3 Jan

CR IP TI ON BS SU

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

Commission says Mubarak watched revolt unfolding

Colombia firm makes bulletproof kid clothes

US Congress finally averts ‘fiscal cliff’

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Davydenko, Monfils reach quarterfinals in Qatar

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Syria death toll over 60,000 as clashes rage

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www.kuwaittimes.net

SAFAR 21, 1434 AH

Dozens killed as regime jets strike petrol station conspiracy theories

13, 13, 13

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

I

t has been a funny start to 2013. I hope this fun will not continue throughout the whole year.

Working in a newspaper, what I’m going to talk about attracted my attention. For the first time this year, I have not received any 2013 calendars and agendas from companies. Until this year, our offices used to be flooded with New Year stationery arriving with delivery boys from companies, hotels, banks and investment companies.

Sometimes it was hard to distribute it all between the staff because they were so many.

2013 started with nothing. Except for the beautiful calendars sent by the well-known Kuwaiti artist Thuraya Al-Baqsami. I am sure most have heard of her. Two months ago she sent us calendars with illustrations of her paintings. Other than that, I have not received anything so far. Other editors also shared with me that 2013 was dry.

We started analyzing the situation. Some said that due to the money crunch and the four years of stagnant economy in Kuwait, companies are frugal when it comes to expenditure. Others were more imaginative and creative with their answers. One of them said that because many people expected the world to end on Dec 21 as per Mayan predictions, there was no need to distribute calendars for 2013.

I did not buy that at all.

Others who are superstitious related the lack of calendars to the number 13 in 2013 which is considered unlucky in many cultures. Maybe that is why, some argued, some entrepreneurs did not venture to make calendars for this year with the number 13 in them. Actually, many people especially in the West and the Far East consider this number very unlucky. Some hotels even skip the 13th floor. Could this be the reason?

Nobody from the superstitious gang would buy a lottery ticket that has the number 13 in it. Or they would hate to have their car plate with 13. Many people change their travel arrangements if a trip falls on the 13th. They exaggerate in their superstition. Many people go to far extremes when it comes to 13. I cannot state all the things I have seen and heard from people about this number. I would need pages to recall them all and I do not think my editor will allow it as she hates the number 13 too.

Where did these superstitions come from? Does anybody know? Can you enlighten me? Do you want to share your 13-number superstitions? Is it based on facts or fiction? As for me I do not believe in this. On the contrary. I have big hopes that 2013 will be, inshallah (God willing), a better year than the previous one for all of us.

Goodbye 2012 with all your miseries! Welcome 2013!

ALEPPO: A Syrian rebel plays football in the Saif al-Dawlah neighborhood of Aleppo yesterday. The United Nations estimated yesterday that more than 60,000 people have been killed in Syria’s 21-month-old uprising against authoritarian rule. — AP

Max 18º Min 09º High Tide 02:27 & 16:03 Low Tide 09:31 & 21:55

DAMASCUS: More than 60,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict, the UN said yesterday, as dozens more died or were injured when a service station near Damascus was hit by an air strike. As the casualties continued to mount, the family of a freelance US journalist, who contributed videos to AFP, revealed that he was kidnapped in Syria six weeks ago and has been missing ever since. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in Geneva that 59,648 people had died through the end of November in the 21-month conflict, which began as a peaceful uprising in March 2011.

“Given there has been no let-up in the conflict since the end of November, we can assume that more than 60,000 people have been killed by the beginning of 2013,” Pillay said in a statement. “The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking,” she added. Pillay said in Dec 2011 that the UN was unable to provide precise figures on the number of deaths, and media have since been relying on the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which put the total on Monday at more than 46,000. “Although this is the most detailed and wide-ranging analysis of casualty figures so far, this is by no means a definitive figure,” Pillay said.

Analysis has shown a steady increase in the average number of documented deaths per month since the beginning of the conflict, growing from around 1,000 in the summer of 2011 to an average of more than 5,000 since July 2012. The Observatory said a regime air strike in the Eastern Ghuta region of Damascus killed or wounded dozens of people, many of them horribly burned. “There are 12 bodies that have been found at the scene, including a number of rebels from different local battalions,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP by phone. “It is not yet clear if the gas station was the target.”

The Local Coordination Committees, a grassroots network of activists, estimated that at least 50 people were killed and dozens of others wounded. It said the toll was likely to rise because bodies were still being pulled from the rubble, adding that “it is extremely difficult to count the dead because most of the bodies have been immolated.” A gruesome video posted on YouTube purported to show the aftermath of the attack, with many of the bodies burned. It was not immediately clear if the bomb blasts caused the storage tanks to explode, but the scene was engulfed in fire, which suggests that was the case.

“MIG warplane strikes on Eastern Ghuta! Dozens of martyrs!” a man in the video shouted out as he and a fellow cameraman raced toward plumes of smoke to survey the damage. One man stood wailing to God as he held what was left of his friend, a head and a shredded torso with a bloodied shirt still hanging on flaps of skin. Another man was still atop a motorcycle in the middle of the fire, his body engulfed in flames. — AFP

MPs want stiffer penalties for insulting Amir Court frees activists, punishes Juwaihel, Scope TV

By B Izzak KUWAIT: Five MPs yesterday submitted a draft law proposing to stiffen the jail term against those who abuse HH the Amir’s authority, insult him or undermine his status. At present, the penal code stipulates a jail term not exceeding five years for such offences but the lawmakers proposed the new penalty should be between five and 15 years in jail. The proposal was submitted by MPs Nabeel AlFadl, Abdulhameed Dashti, Yacoub Al-

Sane, Nawaf Al-Fuzai and Mohammad AlBarrak.

A number of former opposition MPs are facing trials for the same charges after making remarks at public rallies in October that were deemed highly offensive against the Amir. They include opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak, Faisal Al-Mislem, Falah Al-Sawwagh, Khaled AlTahous, Bader Al-Dahoum and Osama AlMunawer, in addition to dozens of youth activists and tweeters.

The proposal needs the Assembly’s

legal and legislative committee to approve it, then pass on to the Assembly to approve the amendment and send it to the government for endorsing it. Even if the new pro-government Assembly passes the amendment, it will not apply on crimes already committed.

In another development, the criminal court yesterday freed without bail four opposition youth activists after several days in detention for refusing to pay a KD 1,000 bail each. The activists - Khaled AlFadhalah, Rashed Al-Fadhalah, Abdullah

Al-Rassam and Fahad Al-Gabandi - were being interrogated for taking part in a demonstration on Oct 21 organized by the opposition. They were initially arrested that day but then freed without bail.

However, the public prosecution ordered them to appear again a few days ago and ordered them to pay a bail which they refused, saying they do not accept two decisions by the prosecution on the same case. The court set Feb 6 for the next hearing in court while they remain free.

Continued on Page 2

in the

news

Iran claims shooting down two US drones TEHRAN: Iran yesterday said it had shot down two US-made RQ-11 reconnaissance drones in the past 15 months, adding to a ScanEagle drone and RQ170 Sentinel stealth aircraft it already claims to have captured. “The army’s air defence shot down two... RQ-11 drones,” Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari told state television and Fars news agency, adding that the army was carrying out “research” on the downed unmanned aircraft. He said the first had been brought down in Shahrivar 1390 (Aug-Sep 2011) and the second in Aban 1391 (Oct-Nov 2012). “Much of the data of these drones has been decoded by the Army’s jihad and research centre,” he said. The AeroVironment RQ-11 type aircraft that Rastegari said had been shot down is a small, hand-launched and remote-controlled drone used

by US military intelligence, and has also been adopted by some US allies.

Egypt officials fly to UAE to discuss arrests CAIRO: Three senior Egyptian officials flew to the United Arab Emirates yesterday to discuss the arrest of 11 Egyptians accused of forming a Muslim Brotherhood cell in the emirate, Cairo airport officials said. A statement from Egypt’s president said one of the envoys, Essam ElHaddad, presidential adviser for foreign affairs and international cooperation, was carrying a letter from President Mohamed Morsi to the UAE President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. Later yesterday, airport officials said Maj Gen Mohammed Rifaat Shehata, the head of Egypt’s intelligence services, traveled to the Emirates.

The statement from the president’s office did not disclose the contents of the letter. It said Haddad will also meet officials in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The UAE’s AlKhaleej newspaper reported Tuesday that the 11 Egyptians were arrested last month after allegedly collecting security information about the UAE, holding secret meetings, recruiting members and sending large amounts of money to Brotherhood leaders in Cairo.

Saudi activists urge release of writer RIYADH: Saudi intellectuals yesterday urged the kingdom’s crown prince to order the release of a liberal writer accused of insulting Islam via his Twitter account. A petition, signed by around 500 people and addressed to Salman bin Abdul Aziz, called for Turki al-Hamad’s “immediate and unconditional release”. “We hope for, demand and expect a quick decision to be made to correct this grave error that has been committed against” Hamad, it said. It slammed his arrest as “unjust... condemnable, reprehensible, shameful, and unacceptable”. Hamad was arrested - on the orders of Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, who was tipped off by a religious organization - for alleged insults to Islam he made on Twitter, his family said on Dec 24. The comments he posted had attacked radical Islamists he said were twisting Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) “message of love”, and what he described as “a neo-Nazism which is on the rise in the Arab world - Islamic extremism”.

Emirates begins flights from A380 concourse DUBAI: Dubai’s Emirates Airlines began operations yesterday from the world’s first concourse dedicated to Airbus’ A380 super jumbos at the Gulf emirate’s rapidly expanding airport. Concourse A, which cost $3 billion to build, gives Emirates - one of the fastestgrowing carriers - an additional airport capacity of 15 million passengers a year, the company said. The expansion takes place as the CAPA Centre for Aviation said Emirates could become this year the world’s second-biggest carrier in terms of capacity, right after United Airlines, and way ahead of legacy European carriers. Flight EK003 took off to London Heathrow from Concourse A, which will become “home of the Emirates A380,” Emirates said. The new extension to Terminal 3, featuring 20 gates specifically designed to accommodate the long-haul planes, will open gradually, with just four gates operational yesterday. The government-owned carrier is the largest operator of A380s, with a fleet of 31 and another 59 on order.

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

LOCAL

Rights group: Security forces attack protesters in Kuwait HRW urges govt to safeguard human rights KUWAIT: Kuwaiti security forces have used excessive force to disperse largely peaceful protestors on several occasions, according to Human Rights Watch. Some demonstrators have been wounded and the security forces have arrested many others.

“Kuwait is one of the rare countries in the Gulf where demonstrations happen and are allowed to take place without disruption,” Eric Goldstein, the deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch told The Media Line.

“But in the buildup to parliamentary elections at the end of 2012 there have been a number of times where security forces have attacked protestors on the grounds that they were unauthorized. We’re urging the Kuwaiti authorities to use more restraint in managing demonstrations and to allow people to express themselves peacefully on the street.”

The roiling demonstrations of the Arab spring have mostly bypassed this proWestern monarchy with just 2.8 million people. It also has an estimated 10 percent of the world’s oil reserves. Yet demonstrations have heated up over recent changes in the electoral law. The new law reduced from four to one the number of votes each voter could cast. Opposition groups, including Islamists

and liberals opposed the move, saying it violated the constitution. They also boycotted the elections.

Human Rights Watch documented several demonstrations at which security forces beat demonstrators near parliament after they tore down a barrier. The repor t quotes Mohamed Al-Uraiman, 25, who said he was beaten at a demonstration on October 15.

“One (a masked riot police agent) hit my back with a stick and another hit my head,” he told Human Rights Watch. “I was bleeding a lot. Some people tried to rush me out but they did not let us leave. I had no choice but to walk on the beach and go behind the police barricades and then take an ambulance to the Amiri hospital. I stayed there and got five stitches.”

Security forces justified the use of force saying that the demonstrators had blocked traffic, and thrown stones at police. Human Rights Watch said protest organizers and witnesses said the protests were mostly peaceful. “These are not demonstrators that are pitched battles with people hurling bottles or Molotov cocktails,” Goldstein said.

“They claim the demonstrators blocked traffic but most took place in public squares

away from traffic. In some cases the police have arrested people and held them overnight.”

Middle East analysts say the demonstrations in Kuwait could escalate to much larger rallies. “The situation in Kuwait has been ongoing for a number of years but it’s taken a turn for the worse,” Theodore Karasik of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis told The Media Line. “There’s an ongoing fight regarding the distribution of power between the ruler, the parliament and various groups including the secularists, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Salafists.

Recently there have been some large protests of thousands of people which did not happen before.”

The large oil reserves have given the Amir extensive financial resources for his citizens.

Education, through college is completely free, including food, books, and even clothes.

Health care is also free. Perhaps for that reason, Kuwait has not seen the large-scale demonstrations found in other countries. But Karasik believes that could be changing. “The potential for escalation is there,” he said. “I think we’re at a stand-off and the question is who is going to blink first.” — The Media Line

Patient’s verbal duel with doctor, first crime in 2013 Three killed in road fatalities on New Year day KUWAIT: A physician at the Jahra Hospital who complained to the police about a patient assaulting him verbally over a dispute about diagnoses pressed offense charges, thus leading to registration of the first case in the New Year in Kuwait. The physician reported to the Naeem police station at 1:30 am during the wee hours of Tuesday, and informed about the petulant patient.

Just half an hour later came the turn of the second case of the year when the Jleeb AlShuyoukh police station registered a case about the death of an Asian national. He died of natural causes. The Hawally governorate witnessed registration of the third case against a driver who was arrested in an inebriated state in Salmiya. Another driver who was injured in an accident on the King Fahad

Road became the subject of the fourth case which was recorded at the Ahmadi governorate.

3 die in New Year day accidents Three people were killed in separate accidents in Kuwait on the first day of the year. A Kuwaiti died in an accident at the Subbiya Road after his car lost balance and turned over, claiming the dubious distinction of becoming the first mishap victim. Meanwhile, another man, still unidentified, died on the spot in Um Al-Haiman after his vehicle collided with another, whose driver was hospitalized. In yet another accident, an Indian national succumbed to his fatal injuries after he was run over by an unidentified driver who fled the scene after the accident in

Hawally. Investigations were on into all three accidents.

New husband charged with kidnap A Kuwaiti family, which first reported their daughter as missing and later refused to accept the man she claimed to have married during a surreptitious visit to Egypt, has now pressed abduction charges against the man, claiming that the girl was underage when she left home.

The family had first approached the Mubarak Al-Kabeer police to report that their daughter was missing, and informed the authorities that her passport, too, was not to be found.

Based on this information, police reviewed the girl’s travel record and found that she had left for Egypt, a decision she apparently made after her father went to London for treatment. A few days later, when the girl arrived at the Kuwait International Airport accompanied by a Kuwaiti man who explained that the two had married in Egypt and flaunted an official marriage certificate, the police could do little and did not detain the girl. Police also reviewed the travel records of the duo and confirmed that the two had indeed left for Cairo on the same plane.

After the girl’s family was notified about the situation, it pressed charges of kidnapping the girl against their new son-in-law, claiming that their daughter was still underage when she left with him and married without their approval. Charges of forgery were also pressed.

Party crashers Seven people were arrested on New Year’s eve for hosting a party in violation of state’s regulations. The arrest happened when police raided a Farwaniya apartment based on information about it being the venue of a late night party with a KD10 entrance fee and suspicions about illegal activities happening there. Seven Filipino detainees were referred to the proper authorities to face legal action.

Meanwhile, 18 people were arrested during a crackdown by the Ahmadi police at a camp in the Abdullah Port desert where investigations revealed that it was all set to host a New Year Eve party where alcohol was to be served.

Drug possession Three people were arrested in Hawally during a security patrol operation on New Year’s Eve for being in possession of drugs. The suspects - a Kuwaiti, a Saudi and a Bedouin (stateless) - had betrayed nervousness after police officers pulled them over, prompting them to search their car. Officers found 140 drug pills as well as an amount of heroin. The three were arrested after they put up some resistance, and then taken to the Drug Control General Department to face charges. —Al-Watan

KUWAIT: Cleaning campaign in progress at the Al-Shamlan Harbor near Souq Sharq.

Joint campaign to clean up Al-Shamlan harbor

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The Kuwait municipality in cooperation with Kuwait Dive Team, Kuwait port authorities and the fishermen’s union, carried out a cleaning campaign at the Al-Shamlan Harbor near Souq Sharq. The campaign focused on lifting the remains of the sunken boats and nets, apart from some other remnants. The trash collected from the harbor was loaded on three trucks of the municipality, with Faisal Al-Mulla , the team coordinator at the service administration following the operation.

The municipality team was headed by emergency head department, Bader Dashti, who emphasized that the munici-

pality was keen to cooperate with different government organizations by providing laborers and equipments. Pointing out that such efforts will continue till the harbor was completely clean, he said the next campaign will see removal of the boats which have been lying abandoned in the harbor for long as their owners went abroad. Warning notices will be pasted on such boats and if these were not moved for two days, these will be confiscated and legal action will be taken.

On his part, the Kuwait diving team’s head, Waleed Al-Fadhel, called upon the concerned parties to invoke penalties against violators who dump the remains and timber of the boats and ships into the sea.

KUWAIT: Faisal Al-Mulla, the team coordinator, with other officials.

Al-Qallaf to grill PM over Bedoons?

By A Saleh KUWAIT: MP Husain Al-Qallaf plans to send a number of inquisitions to HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah pertaining to the situation of stateless residents. The set of questions, third of its kind that the lawmaker will be sending to the state’s premier regarding the thorny issue, is seen as a prelude to a grilling motion Al-Qallaf could file at the next parliamentary term if no solution was presented before the end of the current one.

This was revealed by parliamentary insiders who also indicated that the parliament’s finance committee plans to merge all proposals submitted with regards to writing off interests accrued on bank loans into a single proposal to be sent to parliament for voting.

Meanwhile, the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity also revealed that members of the legislative committee are expected to approve a request to refer constitutional articles pertaining to lawmakers’ immunity to the Constitutional Court for interpretation.

Maid leaps to death fourth floor,

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: In an apparent bid to commit suicide, a housemaid leapt out of a window of the fourth floor apartment of her sponsor and

landed on top of a nearby store, said security sources. The maid, however, died after being transfered to Mubark Al-Kabeer Hospital, the sources added. The photo shows an ambulance carrying the housemaid to hospital.

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LOCAL

94 development projects to be launched this year KUWAIT: Economists welcomed 2013 with optimism emerging from a plethora of state projects which are part of the larger development plan and hoped that a cordial relationship and cooperative attitude between the parliament and cabinet helps achieve as much as possible.

A recent report released by the Supreme Council for Planning and Development lists 94 projects out of 1210 included in the development plan to be launched this year.

They include constructing medical centers, expansion projects at the Kuwait International Airport and seaports, improving oil fields to increase production, as well as several maintenance and construction development projects. The list also includes a plan to distribute 2686 housing units in the southern area of Al-Wafra, as well as a project to install natural gas pipelines for Kuwait’s north wells.

Meanwhile, Al-Qabas newspaper pub-

lished a list containing ten factors which could help achieve more positive results in the economic sphere in 2013 compared to last year.

The list include mega state projects projected to be launched this year including the North Zoor Power Plant and Jaber Causeway, as well as significant construction projected in the Jaber Hospital and Boubyan Port projects. Next year is also set to feature the establishment of shareholding companies tasked with implementing several developmental plans including electricity companies, health insurance companies and expatriate workers’ residential cities.

Moreover, there is growing optimism that 2013 is set to feature improved operational environment for projects as a whole, growth in the financing sector, as well as improvement in the oil sector with the inception of mega projects such as building the fourth oil refinery in Kuwait. — Al-Qabas

KUWAIT: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Hmoud received in his office yesterday the Austrian Ambassador to Kuwait Al Rich Frenk. Friendly talks were exchanged during the meeting. He also received the Chinese Ambassador Sui Jian Chon. The First Deputy Prime Minister conveyed his appreciation of the Ambassador’s effort to strengthen the relations between the two friendly countries Kuwait and China.

Authorities poised to meet as loans issue remains in focus Lawmakers gear for addressing multiple issues

KUWAIT: Awqaf Ministry Assistant Undersecretary for Planning and Development Ibrahim Al-Saleh said that the idea of organizing a conference to measure and evaluate the strategic performance of the Islamic establishments began as a response to the ministry’s strategy for innovation and outstanding performance.

KUWAIT: Lawmakers welcomed 2013 as they engage with multiple issues that they propose to address during the first week of the New Year, most notably the proposals calling upon the government to write off the interests accrued on citizens’ loans.

This issue is expected to become a highlight of the meetings between the Cabinet and the parliament’s head office next week, where both sides plan to outline their priorities for discussions in the coming parliamentary sessions.

One of the main topics on the parliament’s agenda is security, an issue that the First Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlHmoud Al-Sabah plans to address and explain his ministry’s ability to maintain law and order.

According to MPs who spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity, Sheikh Al-Sabah will be making his presentation during a par-

liament’s session next week specifically convened to discuss security.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry, the Central Bank governor, companies which carried out studies regarding the loans issue as well as citizens who are directly impacted were invited to the parliament’s financial committee meeting next week, announced member Ahmad Lari.

“The committee requested to study the subject and evaluate the problem that has emerged after four years in order to consider possible solutions that can help resolve the case once and for all,” MP Lari told Al-Rai. In other news, the opposition leaders resumed talks to plan their next move that, according to sources, could include a return to support public movements.

Speaking to Al-Rai on the condition of anonymity, the sources explained that a meeting featuring former MPs Ahmad Al-

Saadoun, Khalid Al-Sultan, Musallam AlBarrak, Dr. Jamaan Al-Harbash, Mohammad Hayef and Dr Adel Al-Damkhy on Tuesday saw agreement on a strategy based on which the opposition plans to “re-activate” the public movement. The opposition had taken a break in the past couple of months “in order to monitor and re-evaluate” the scene, according to the sources.

The oppositionists who were present at the meeting also agreed to support the ‘Karamat Watan 5’ (dignity of a nation) procession planned for next Sunday, and to follow it up with a press conference next Monday and a public seminar next Wednesday at AlSaadoun’s dewaniya.

In the meantime, the sources indicated that the opposition was fine with the idea of meeting with HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, but pointed out that the proposal was yet to be put on the table. — Al-Rai

KFAED lends Sudan $85m for power project

KHARTOUM: Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) and the government of Sudan signed here yesterday a loan agreement for KD 25 million ($85 million) which the latter will use to finance a power project supplying electricity to three eastern provinces in the country.

The agreement was signed on behalf of the Sudanese government by the minister of finance

and economy Ali Abdulrasoul and on behalf of KFAED by its Director General Abdulwahab AlBader.

The loan will be used to provide electricity to about 660,000 people living in the eastern provinces, said the minister as he praised KFAED for its contributions to myriad industrial, agricultural, and service-based Sudanese projects.

On his part Al-Bader indicated his satisfaction at the completion of the Rosaires dam elevation project in Sudan to which KFAED was a major contributor. Duration of the KD 25 million is 25 years with a four-year grace period, payable over 42 half-yearly installments with an annual interest rate of 2 percent.

This is the third loan Sudan gets from KFAED

whose past loans to the country topped KD 202.4 million (or $688 million). Moreover KFAED has advanced three grants to Sudan to the tune of $1.2 million.

The government of Kuwait, fur thermore, through KFAED, has granted Sudan $50 million to go toward financing health and education projects in eastern Sudan. — KUNA

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

LOCAL

kuwait digest

kuwait digest

Hurdles to weeding out corruption

Safety and security in Kuwait malls

By Hamad Al-Sarie he Avenues complex crime in which a young man, newly appointed as a dentist in Ministry of Health, was killed has shocked the society.

The government released a press report denouncing the crime, MPs made various statements and the media started analyzing various angles of the tragic incident. In fact, the media published several reports in the wake of the killing.

When people visit the European countries or the US, they visit commercial complexes for shopping along with their families. Safety is a feature at every step of these visits. From the minute you park your car in the commercial complex’s parking, there is security and surveillance cameras. Such security measures were also there at the Avenues but not in other commercial complexes.

Entrance to commercial complexes should have scanning facilities. This is required not just to prevent any fights but to preempt any act of terror

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By Dr Shamlan Yousuf Al-Essa

I

Entrance to commercial complexes should have scanning facilities.

This is required not just to prevent any fights but to preempt any act of terror planned by any criminal or crazy person. Security is more than dealing with fights and murders. planned by any criminal or crazy person. Security is more than dealing with fights and murders.

People tasked with ensuring security at the commercial complexes often lack the required training.

Most of the guards are actually civilians who have never worked in the field or trained for the job for a period which must not be less than six months. The guards need to be trained in inspection, controlling a fight, overpowering an individual, dealing with arms or an armed assailant, use of security sticks and power-charged batons to control any aggressor. They should also know how to handle a fight involving women.

It should be mandatory for these guards to sport distinct uniform and carry a baton and an electrical shocker besides wireless communication equipment, instead of being dressed in a “dishdasha” which only hampers in a fight or chase. In fact, someone might mistake the guard dressed like that as belonging to the other party and assault him.

Owners and administrators of commercial complexes must put in place a mechanism to enable them to deal with riots, fighting, thefts, sexual assaults etc. They can enter into an agreement with the Ministry of Interior for this purpose.

Dealing with people involved in a violent scuffle or sexual abusers requires the use of power to control and even handcuff those involved in the crime.

The guards may have to isolate these people for some time till security men arrive. Such procedures require the approval of Ministry of Interior.

If the visitors of any commercial complex lose faith in the safety and security of that complex, owners will lose their customers. It is better to spend a small amount on security than lose clients. —Al-Anbaa

t seems that the current government is serious about fighting corruption since the public prosecutor, Dherar Al-Asousi, issued a circular asking all public prosecutors working under him to keep up the pressure up.

Besides, the fact that a law making it mandatory to declare financial assets was issued lately also points in that direction.

Social Affairs and Labor Minister Thekra AlRashidi has been studying how charity funds were being administered by his ministry and what kind of mechanism was employed for receiving donations and how were these being dished out. The idea was to address any potential draw backs in these transactions.

The minister specially focused on the Iqama trade and reiterated that she will not hesitate in sending anyone violating the labor regulations to the public prosecution.

While we appreciate the government’s seriousness and the steps it has taken to fight corruption in state apparatus, we must say it candidly that corruption has become widespread in the country and the government establishments. We have serious doubts about the government’s ability to fight it because investigators and those tasked with follow up action belong to the same government apparatus and among those who benefit the most from such corruption are government employees.

All economic and administrative advisors have been telling the government to cut some flab and reduce its own size besides privatizing some of its ministerial tasks and establishments, but no one seems to be listening.

For example, Kuwait Airways has been in the red for more than 30 years, and all recom-

kuwait digest

Lawmakers’ immunity

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij the doors for a majority to ‘dismiss’ minority lawmakers if they wished to.

If the proposed ethics committee was in existence awmakers are currently studying the idea of setting up an ethics committee which will be during the term of the annulled 2012 parliament, one empowered to penalize any MP found guilty of can only imagine how the oppositionist majority at the abusing his position by indulging in any act inside or time would have used this right to eliminate the outside the parliament. The penalties may vary minority it had already marginalized.

Besides, a lawmaker who is made to feel marginalized depending on the severity of the ‘offense’ committed, could eventually resort and can even result in the MP to even some unwise losing his membership, as per The constitution guarantees immudecisions. the proposal. nity to the lawmakers inside and The constitution I do not believe anyone, guarantees immunity to whether inside or outside outside the parliament. While it the lawmakers inside the parliament, has any conallows the judiciary to look into any and outside the parliastitutional right to terminate illegal practices committed by an ment. While it allows the the membership of a memMP outside the parliament - that is judiciary to look into any ber of the House. Article 108 after the parliament agrees to lift illegal practices commitof the Kuwaiti Constitution the MP’s immunity - Ar ticle 108 defines an MP as “representted by an MP outside the ing the entire nation,” and it is parliament - that is after clearly disallows the parliament or hard to imagine that somethe parliament agrees to any of its committees to limit the one can dismiss a person lift the MP’s immunity authority of any lawmaker. regarded as a representative Article 108 clearly disalof all Kuwaitis as would imply lows the parliament or that the entire parliament can become dispensable. any of its committees to limit the authority of any lawMoreover, the constitution denies the presence of maker. It is best for the MPs to have full freedom of work any authority above the lawmaker, including the par- inside the parliament and its committees. It is safer to liament itself. If the parliament voted one of its mem- ensure that the will of the voters is respected and prober out of office, for example, this would signal the tected from potential mismanagement on the part of a beginning of restrictions on the immunity and free- parliamentary majority. Only voters have the right to dom that parliamentary work requires, and will open judge those they elect. —Al-Qabas

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

L

kuwait digest

Governmental management

By Dr YaquoubAl-Sharrah s there anyone in Kuwait who has not suffered as a result of administrative bureaucracy in the majority of state departments? Is it too hard to diagnose what has become a reality, which you can see almost every time you have to finalize a transaction through legal means?

The stalling routine of work, uncooperative employees, the great number of documents required and the different places one has to stop by in order to finalize one transaction, is seen by many as a negative phenomenon in society that has become a source of constant inconvenience to people.

What makes it worse is that this happens at a time in which the world is busy trying to keep up with the technology revolution and the boom in the information and telecommunication fields, which completely altered the mechanism of offering integrated services. In the meantime, Kuwait still suffers due to the lack of efforts to adapt technology in simplifying services the government provides to the public.

The problems in governmental management is more complicated than they seem to be, especially when we consider the fact that while the government is required to shift to electronic management, they also have to deal with overcrowded offices filled with unproductive employees.

Nevertheless, information at hand indicates that the government has failed to take steps towards using technology, despite the dire need for it in order to eliminate administrative problems we suffer from. There is no doubt that we find it troublesome that we have to deal with multiple staff members, provide multiple papers, have multiple papers signed and, at the same time, have so much time wasted to complete seemingly simple transactions. Unless efforts are made to improve coordination between divisions in each department, eliminate chances of error, address reluctance in the workplace, etc, governmental management will continue to be outdated. We look forward to radical improvement in government management, especially with high expectations that people have in light of the hoped-for atmosphere of cooperation between the government and parliament, which observers predict will become commonplace. Further, the chances for tensions, challenges and grilling motions usually blamed for stalling the improvement of government management are very slim. Therefore, the government is required to proceed with executive steps to address its management problems, while the parliament, at the same time, is responsible to make sure that government continues moving in that direction. —Al-Rai

I

While we appreciate the government’s seriousness and the steps it has taken to fight corruption in state apparatus, we must say it candidly that corruption has become widespread in the country and the government establishments. We have serious doubts about the government’s ability to fight it because investigators and those tasked with follow up action belong to the same government apparatus and among those who benefit the most from such corruption are government employees. mendations call for its privatization, but it continued to function till recently. Can anyone explain why?

There is no need for the Ministry of Communications as it has been a failure, and a costly one. All the countries in the region have privatized communications ministry tasks as well as electricity portfolio.

Coming back to the issue of corruption, it is not possible to fight corruption as long as a corrupt and ineffective government apparatus remained in existence.

Take the “human trade” and trade in Iqamas, both issues that have been lingering on for years together without any solutions because people who indulge in such malpractices are not ordinary but rather senior statesmen, some of them well known dignitaries who are simply out of the reach of the law.

These people work through bogus companies. There are malls in Kheitan, Hawally and Jahra areas rented by bogus companies.

Details about them, including their names and other information, are available with the Ministry of Social Affairs. All that is required to put a stop to such blatant malpractices is to raid them and seal all records to find out the names of laborers and those who trade in them.

However, this may not be sufficient because there exist cells in the Social Affairs and Interior ministries which are actively involved in issuing Iqamas, charging rates depending upon the nationality. Smuggling an Iranian or a Shiite Lebanese or a Syrian today has become very costly, while obtaining a work permit for an Egyptian costs around KD 1500.

Most bogus companies are registered in the names of women who hold contracts with the government, but who are these women?

Even the women do not know that their husbands or sons trade in Iqamas.

Finally we are waiting for a law that protects the whistle blower so that people can inform the government about black sheep government employees who accept bribes.

This would be a significant step towards eradicating corruption. —Al-Watan

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

LOCAL

Municipality to build 3 new recycling plants 5th waste management conference on Jan 22

KUWAIT: His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace yesterday Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad AlSabah. —KUNA

2013 welcomes first newborn at 12:02 am KUWAIT: Kuwait greeted its first new born in the New Year just two minutes after the clock struck 12 when a baby boy was born at the Jahra Hospital to Kuwaiti parents. A minute later, another baby was born in the Adan Hospital while a third was born at the Farwaniya Hospital five minutes into 2013. A fourth Kuwaiti child was born at 12:09 am Tuesday while a baby girl born to Kuwaiti parents at the Adan Hospital one minute later became the first female child that Kuwait greeted in 2013.

The first baby born to an expatri-

ate couple in 2013 was a Bahraini boy who was delivered at the Farwaniya Hospital at 12:22 am, followed half an hour later by an Indian girl born at the Adan Hospital. The first hour of the New Year also saw the birth of two Egyptian baby girls at local hospitals.

Adan Hospital saw the largest number of child deliveries, welcoming nine infants into the world during the first few hours of the New Year, followed by two at Farwaniya, one each at Jahra and the Maternity Hospital, where a delivery was

reported at 1:00 am.

While many parents expressed optimism as they welcomed a new member into their respective families with the advent of the New Year, the head of the pediatric department at the Jahra Hospital revealed that many mothers had actually checked into the hospital early and pushed to have C-section surgeries on New Year’s Day. “A majority of health problems that newborns face pertain to respiratory issues which require treatment with antibiotics in cases of inflammations,” Dr Fahad Al-Enizy told Al-Rai.

Mohammed Ibrahim wins one year salary with NBK

KUWAIT: The winner receives his prize from Mohammed Al-Othman, NBK’s Executive Manager, Consumer Banking Group.

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced the last winner of the ‘Transfer Your Salary and Win’ campaign.

Mohammed Mohammed Ibrahim won a year’s salary after transferring his salary to NBK. For seven months, NBK rewarded seven new customers who set up a salary account at NBK a year’s salary. One winner was selected each month.

The winner draw said: “I want to truly thank NBK for its great services and offers and for giving me the chance to win such a valuable prize.”

NBK pioneered many firsts in both the local and regional markets by offering innovative products and value added services. Today, NBK has the largest local and overseas banking network encompassing more than 174 branches, representative offices and subsidiaries strategically located within the main international and regional financial centers.

Labor resumes issuing work permits, iqamas KUWAIT: Fifteen days after the suspension of transaction processing for inventory purposes, the labor depar tment at the Social Affairs and Labor Ministry resumed processing of work permits and iqama transfers with effect from Wednesday, January 2, 2013.

Assistant Undersecretar y for labor sec tor at SAL, Jamal AlDousary, said labor departments will resume requests for processing of all daily transactions including the issuance of work permits

and Iqama transfers, besides other transactions that were not stopped during inventory, including Iqama renewal and cancellation for travel purposes.

Al-Dousary said the labor sector is ready to receive patrons and will make available required number of employees to deal with expected rush after two weeks of stoppage.

He asked employers, employees and mandoobs not to rush for processing of transactions on the very first day unless it was absolutely

necessary to avoid fines.

He said the labor sector at SAL was k een on car r y in g out th e annual inventor y at the labor departments which provides statistics including the number of issued work permits for the year, number of Iqama transfers, visit visa transfers, Iqama renewals, in addition to companiesí violations and many other statistics that help in making decisions to regulate the labor market in the private sector.

KUWAIT: Kids riding a shide as they celebrate the New Year on Tuesday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Municipality director, Engineer Ahmed Al-Subaih, said that the problem of getting rid of solid, constructional and municipal waste would be solved soon as the municipality has drafted a plan to build three new recycling plants in compliance with a study carried out in conjunction with the World Bank.

Speaking to reporters after receiving Jamal Omran, the chairman of the organizing committee of the 5th Kuwait Waste Management Conference and Exhibition (KWMCE), organized by Pro-Media International, and slated to take place from January 22-24, 2013 at the Radisson Hotel, AlSubaih said the projects would focus on recycling solid, municipal and construction waste.

He also noted that the problem related to tires had been solved by resolution 75/5646 made by a ministerial committee on September 20, 2012 that emphasized the significance of making utmost use of tire constituents and safely getting rid of the remnants in a bid to curtail the use of land as landfill sites.

Further, Al-Subaih stressed that Kuwait led other Arab countries in building and operating a plant to recycle construction waste in 2004.

The plant was built as per the BOT model and was being run by Kuwaitis under the management of the Environment Preservation Industrial Co. (EPIC) and the Arab International Industrial Projects Co (AIIPC).

“Much effort has been exerted and more was still needed to recycle this waste,” Al-Subaih pointed out, noting that about 18,000 to 20,000 tons of construction waste was being produced every day in Kuwait. He added that many GCC and Arab municipal officials visited and appreciated the plant. Moreover, Al-Subaih stressed the significance of sponsoring and supporting KWMCE which is held annually in Kuwait and attracts a large number of GCC municipal officials as well as local and international companies specializing in high-tech equipment used in recycling all sorts of waste, be it household, construction, electronic, water or dirt resulting from oil drilling and petrochemical processing, contaminated medical waste and sewage. Al-Subaih also highlighted that the solid waste management project envisages receiving waste and

Engineer Ahmed Al-Subaih

Jamal Omran

sorting it before recycling it or designing and building a hygienic landfill site to rid it of post-recycling residues.

“On an average, about 6,000 tons of such residues are being produced,” he remarked, pointing out that recent statistics showed that at 1.5 kg, Kuwait has one of the world’s highest per capita daily waste generation.

“Though relatively small in area, the amount of waste generated in Kuwait has become so high that it has made Kuwait municipality even more responsible to protect the environment through administering landfills, establishing projects to dispose of or recycle waste besides creating awareness enhancing campaigns amongst citizens and expatriates. Only then would they feel inspired to accept the idea of separating and categorizing their household waste which would lead to a cleaner and healthier envi-

ronment and sustain our resources,” he reiterated.

On his part, Omran highly commended Al-Subaih and Kuwait Municipality’s annual support to the event adding that holding it with Kuwait University’s chemical engineering professor, Khaled Mahdi, heading the scientific committee, would surely help to enrich the seminars where 21 research papers would be presented and discussed.

Omran also thanked the main sponsor EPIC, Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC), the Advanced Technology Co. (ATC), the ministries of electricity, water and public works, National Cleaning Co., National Services Co., GUST, in addition to a large number of local and international companies that have all contributed towards ensuring the success of this upcoming event.

Special forces sergeant fired for joining sit-in KUWAIT: Interior Ministry Undersecretary Lt General Ghazi Al-Omar has ordered a special forces sergeant to be fired for participating in a sit-in in front of state security building in solidarity with a former MP who was being interrogated for insulting the Amiri post.

The move confirms an earlier news report that a member of the special forces was sent to court martial after it was proven that he participated in a sit-in in front of state security.

The sergeant justified his presence then by saying that he brought a mobile phone charger to his brother who was among the protesters. When he was shown the pictures of him with the protesters in a popular dance, he claimed that he was fond of that particular dance number and did not intend to support the detained MP. However, the committee that considered the case was not convinced by his claims and recommended his firing.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

LOCAL

Long-term prospect or Russian roulette?

Kuwaiti stock and property markets KUWAIT: A random walk down Kuwait City reveals indeed a wide range of companies who have money to spend on foreign projects, on foreign companies or sometimes on talent at home.

“The Capital Market Authority (CMA) was created by a parliamentary bill approved in February 2010. Today, it is on the right track, but it will take time to implement the laws and look at the legal position of the commissioners,” said Majdi Gharzeddeene, Head of Investment Research at KAMCO Research.

He added that, “During this year there should be full implementation of the laws, and they will issue new regulations, and clean up the market. The government didn’t intervene in the market; rather, they intervened in October 2008 once they guaranteed all deposits with the banks for unlimited time because of the Gulf Bank crisis, in which they lost around USD 3.6 billion.”

But for an investor from outside, an engagement in the oil-rich sheikhdom is more difficult than it looks at a first glance.

The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) saw its golden times after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. In recent years, however, the KSE Market Index decreased in the wake of the financial crisis.

“One of the repercussions of the financial

than $120 billion worth of losses in the Kuwaiti stock market alone.

Since the financial crisis, many countries in the world have taken several steps to decrease its ramifications, with the exception of Kuwait. Kuwait is among the very few countries that have huge surpluses but has done nothing so far. It also has a major daily income of $300 million from 3 million barrels of oil produced every day at a value of around $100 approximately.

This is in a country of about 1.1 million citizens and 2.2 million expats in a geographical area of not more than 16,000 square kilometers. Since the financial crisis, Kuwait’s income has increased while the Kuwait investment sector has deteriorated; as we can see, so many countries have issued bonds or borrowed money to tackle the financial crisis in their domestic economies, while Kuwait has totally neglected the internal situation and done nothing.”

Meanwhile, the financial crisis and the effects of the Arab Spring seem to be issues of the past. In the first quarter of 2012, Kuwait’s equity gauge jumped 3.73%. From January to May this year, the KSE Market Index advanced 6.53% supported by rallying oil prices.

Kuwait Stock Exchange building crisis on Kuwait was that the investment sector-consisting of listed companies-lost approximately KD 864 million in 2009, which followed losses of KD 927 million in 2008, and record profits of KD 903 million in 2007,” a report by Capital Standards said.

Commenting on the situation in the investment sector, Faisal Ali Al-Mutawa, Chairman and Managing Director of Bayan Investments adds: “Just to give you an idea, from the beginning of the international financial crisis that happened in 2008 until now, the Kuwaiti stock market lost something in the vicinity of 34 billion KD, which if you multiply by about 3.6 to get to the dollar rate: more

However, the sharp fall of the “black gold in May due to the escalation of the Euro zone, dampens the outlook for the second half of 2012.

The majority of KSE-listed firms are not traded on a daily basis. Only a dozen of shares dictate the index movements, among which are the largest lender, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), telecom operator Zain, and Islamic financial institution Kuwait Finance House.

Commenting on local lenders, KAMCO Head of Investment Research Gharzeddeene said that “During 2011, the sector did well, with a significant growth in profitability. Provisions were less than in

2010. Banks were cutting costs and cleaning up their balance sheets.”

Family Touch to Doing Business in Kuwait Another challenge when investing in

According to the independent rating agency, Capital Standards, “There are a total of 100 investment companies operating in Kuwait, with 54 operating within the confines of the Islamic Sharia provisions and the rest as conventional investment companies.”

Kuwait is the power and influence of family businesses. According to Garry Walsh, CEO of diversified food company Mezzan Holding, “the strategic challenge at hand is the transfer from generation to generation.

Because if you look at most of the familyowned businesses in Kuwait-the large onesthey’re in the second generation and are coming to the end of it. Really, that transition from the second generation to the third across the world, is when businesses fall apart.”

Real Estate Sector in Kuwait Regarding the real estate sector in Kuwait, Kuwait does not have a freehold concept like Dubai, where foreigner can buy properties in dedicated, and even obtain a residence visa, simply by putting money into a property. Secondly, the chances of generating increasing value over time remain uncertain. According to Capital Standards, “The real estate sector in Kuwait experienced unparalleled growth during 2000-2007. Post 2007, however, performance in the sector has remained lackluster.”

NBK declared as late as September 2011 that although parts of the sector remain sluggish there are reasons to be optimistic.

“The Government of Kuwait through its investment arm Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), announced that it will invest $3.6 billion (KWD 1 billion) in the local commercial property sector. Though there has been an increase in the total sales of Kuwaiti commercial and investment properties by 114.5% from 2009 to 2010, the sector is still under pressure and requires further support.”

NBK added that “at the beginning of 2011, total sales per month were KD269

million, compared to KD171 million for the same period n 2010, indicating a flourishing year for the real estate sector.”

Eng. Rawaf I. Bourisli, General Manager of Action Real Estate Company and Chairman of Kuwait Dynamics, follows a different strategy, which includes looking abroad.

“The office is basically because of the oversupply and decreasing demand because of the financial meltdown,” he told Marcopolis, adding that “The strategy we adopted from the beginning is a mid-market strategy whether it is our hospitality industry or our real estate industry. That sector has not been affected so we didn’t really have to revise fiercely but we did actually relook at our development plan outside of the region and decided to concentrate only in the region and in Australia.”

Eng Rawaf I Bourisli is convinced that Action Real Estate is positioned well. “As for Kuwait Dynamics, our ambition is to continue developing our logistics department, and we are building up a joint venture with international companies for construction as well. Since we are classified as a grade A contractor in Kuwait, we are beefing up about the construction division to activate it and be a major player within the construction market in Kuwait with the support of international companies that we are in discussion and building up relations with.”

In relation to ongoing challenges, Eng Rawaf I Bourisli explains that “right now we have three risks: construction, marketing and operational because your tenets are actually not sustainable. That does entertain at 3 risks right now involved in any real estate operation, just not only the construction or the leasing part but the operation itself.”

KAMCO’s Head of Investment Research Gharzeddeene also warns of complacency in the sector, saying that “Certain segments of real estate are still suffering. The commercial segment is really suffering, because there is huge over-supply and minimal demand. Prices are at rock bottom.”

Economic Outlook and FDI For Sheikh Dr Meshaal Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah the slogan for investors shall be ‘now or never’: “We have a very positive investment outlook. A lot of good things will happen. There is a very high interest in coming to Kuwait, as the previous three years have shown. There have been a lot of enquiries and visits.”

Sheikh Dr Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmed AlSabah concluded: “Many people think of Kuwait as a hope for their projects, as an emerging market much like Iraq and Iran.

There is a project under way of a railway that connects the country with the northern part of Asia; there is also a harbour project that is aiming to reduce costs for investors to put their products in manufacture in Kuwait.” — Marcopolis.net

“We have a very positive outlook about the future. A lot of good things will happen.

There is a very high interest in coming to Kuwait, as the previous three years have shown. There have been a lot of enquiries and visits.”

55,000 left for foreign shores on New Year eve KUWAIT: The world received 2013 with joy and a great deal of optimism expressed through fireworks display and various other forms of celebrations held worldwide.

In Kuwait, all border exits collectively witnessed the departure of over 55,000 people to celebrate the New Year eve abroad, said informed sources, noting that about 100 flights left

Kuwait on Monday for various destinations with most bound for Dubai.

Meanwhile, as par t of its efforts to discourage students from skipping school before and after the official vacations and holidays, the M inistr y of Education instructed all schools to give a test to the students on Wednesday and Thursday, i.e.

January 2nd and 3rd, to force

them to attend school.

Further, informed sources at the Civil Services Commission said that it warned the state employees of strong action if they failed to show up for work on Monday, Wednesday or Thursday without any valid reason. “Employees are still ignoring directives and availing days off illegally, spending this time abroad,” sources said, noting

that the number of sick leaves increased exponentially on Monday and more were being expected on Wednesday and Thursday.

“All ministries will be contacted to take strict punitive measures against absentees, namely those who had repeatedly availed sick leaves on such occasions,” the sources stressed.

—Annahar, Al-Watan

Fleeing Ethiopian maid falls, dies

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: An Ethiopian maid tried to escape from recruiting agents at Hawally, but fell during her attempt to flee. She was critically wounded in the fall and died on the spot. A case was registered.

An Ethiopian expat killed his compatriot, a 32-year-old shepherd by hitting him strongly in the head with a metallic object.

The killer tried to escape, but passersby caught hold of him and did not let him off till the police came and arrested him. The

DUBAI: Caribou Cafe receives a certificate after winning a referendum that covered 1.5 million persons in the Middle East in Dubai.

Caribou Cafe opens new branch in Kuwait KUWAIT: Caribou Cafe, a pioneer in light food and beverage, opened a new branch at Kipco Tower in downtown Kuwait to be added to the chain of branches around Kuwait and the elite commercial complexes.

The new branch at Kipco Tower was designed as per latest design models, when it comes to furniture and equipment. It is a combination of beauty and relaxation and provides an outstanding atmosphere for the clients.

Caribou Cafe prepared for its clients a variety of drinks of excellent taste and a variety of light meals with sandwiches, cookies and red velvet cake...etc. The cafe chain which is one of the largest cafÈ chains was established in the US in 1992 and opened its 1st branch at Minneapolis at Minnesota state in the US and

has about 600 branches worldwide and listed at Nasdaq index.

Al-Sayer company is the sole agent for Caribo Cafe in the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa and its products contain best qualities of cafe drinks, juices and light sandwiches. In addition to selected kinds of cheese cake from a dream factory to suit all tastes that depend on best qualities of cafÈ beans and cocoa.

Caribou Cafe participated in a competition that was held in Dubai and won in a referendum that covered 1.5 million persons in the Middle East. It came on top of the competitors in the exhibition that included more than 100 companies from 35 countries who exhibited their products and services in Dubai.

culprit said he killed him due to previous differences between them and an unpaid debt. A Kuwaiti man complained to the Umm Al-Haiman police station that his son left home last Friday and had not returned home since then.

Two Pakistani expats were arrested from Shuwaikh Industrial area after they robbed an Iranian expat working at a grocery store.

The Iranian man was able to identify them.

A Kuwaiti man complained to the police in Ahmadi that his mobile phone and a generator were stolen while he was asleep.

Absenteeism in schools remains major concern KUWAIT: Having exhausted all scientific and practical means, the Education Ministry is at its wit’s end about how to stem the trend of a large number of students remaining absent from school just before and after the New Year holiday. It asked schools’ administrations to prepare short quizzes for students yesterday and tomorrow. Sources in the Education M inistr y revealed that schools were facing problems in preparing exams for all classes on the same day, and hence, many students would remain absent. Meanwhile, the same sources said short quizzes were unlikely to check absenteeism though the move might reduce it to some extent.

They said that threatening them with an exam will not deter many students from remaining absent, especial-

ly since their parents are trying to manage sick leaves for these children.

Meanwhile, Farwaniya educational zone introduced certain proposals to reduce absenteeism before and after the holidays by setting up working teams in residential area schools. The project aims to involve school administrations into proposing solutions to the problem, and urge them to compete to resolve the issue.

They can hone their skills by undertaking field studies and ensuring cooperation between the zone and school administration to resolve the problem.

The second proposal is a “no absence” contest which aims at “urging school administrations to seriously track students’ and teachers’ absence, make schools compete with each other to end the problem.

Kuwait envoy holds talks with Indonesian minister KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwait Ambassador to Indonesia Nasser Al-Enizi held talks yesterday with Indonesian Agricultural Minister Suswono on cooperation within the agricultural sector. The meeting dealt with issues of common interest for the two countries in all fields, namely the agricultural field, Al-Enizi informed yesterday.

Kuwait is looking forward to strengthening relations in the agricultural field, taking into consideration the vast Indonesian experience within agriculture, said the Ambassador. — KUNA

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

Hekmatyar vows fresh attacks on NATO troops

Filipino child dies from New Year Eve shooting Page 12

Page 11

CAIRO: In this Feb 2, 2011 file photo, supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, riding camels and horses, fight with anti-Mubarak protesters. (Inset) In this June 2, 2012 file photo, Egypt’s ex-President Hosni Mubarak lies on a gurney inside a barred cage in the police academy courthouse. —AP

Mubarak watched uprising unfold Egypt commission’s findings could lead to retrial

CAIRO: Ousted President Hosni Mubarak watched the uprising against him unfold through a live TV feed to his palace, despite his denial that he knew the extent of the protests and crackdown against them, a member of a fact-finding mission said yesterday. The finding could lead to the retrial of the 84-old former leader, already serving a life sentence. In questioning for his trial for the deaths of some 900 protesters during the uprising, Mubarak said he was kept in the dark by top aides as to the gravity of the situation during the uprising, and fended off charges that he ordered or knew of the deadly force used against the protesters.

Mubarak was still convicted in June of failing to prevent the deaths. But many Egyptians were angered that he was not convicted for ordering or having a direct role in the crackdown. Ahmed Ragheb, a rights lawyer and a member of the commission, said state TV had designated a coded satellite TV station that fed live material

from cameras installed in Tahrir and surrounding areas directly to Mubarak’s Palace throughout the 18-days of the uprising.

“Mubarak knew of all the crimes that took place directly. The images were carried to him live, and he didn’t even need security reports,” Ragheb told AP. “This entails a legal responsibility” in the violence against the protesters, including the infamous Camel Battle, where men on horses and camel and other Mubarak supporters stormed the square trying to drive protesters out. At least 11 people are said to be killed in that attack, and some 25 members of the ruling were tried in the case were set free.

The finding came in a 700-page report on protester deaths the past two years, submitted yesterday to President Mohamed Morsi. Morsi had formed this commission soon after he came to office in June, having promised during his election campaign that he will order new retrials for former regime officials if new evidence were

revealed. The commission also found that security forces and the military used live ammunition in crackdowns on protesters during the 18-day uprising against Mubarak and during the 17 months of rule by the military that followed his Feb 11, 2011 fall, Ragheb said. The military repeatedly denied it used live ammunition against protesters, despite several death caused by bullets and pellets.

Ragheb refused to give specifics, saying revealing the details could undermine the report and top of some of those newly named in it as responsible for deaths. He told Al-Masry Al-Youm daily that the report recommends summoning hundreds implicated in the killings of protesters for questioning. The commission’s 16 members include judges, rights lawyers, representatives from the Interior Ministry and intelligence, in addition to family members of some of those killed in the protests. The report was based on evidence and testimony collected

over five months. Morsi yesterday asked the commission to hand its report to the general prosecutor to investigate its contents to determine what should be done, according to a statement by his office. The fact that Mubarak was able to monitor events in Tahrir, if established, could lead to him being charged with premeditated murder, said Khaled Abu Bakr, a lawyer who represented some of the victims in the uprising. “A retrial might add more jail time if new charges appeared, and it could also change the penalty from life sentence to the death penalty,” Abu Bakr said.

The case against Mubarak and top aides was very limited in scope, focusing only on the uprising’s first few days and two narrow corruption cases. Mubarak and his two sons were acquitted on corruption charges. His former interior minister, Habib el-Adly, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for complicity in the crackdown, while six top security aides

were acquitted. Mubarak’s life sentence failed to satisfy many who had called for him to be held responsible for ordering the killing, in addition to years of widespread corruption, police abuse and political wrongdoing under his regime.

The report of military use of live ammunition could be more controversial, since any attempt to try generals for protester deaths would spark a backlash from the powerful military. The transition period managed by the generals who took over from Mubarak was turbulent. Protests against their management of the transition often included violent crackdowns in which at least 100 people died in clashes between protesters and soldiers. The military often blamed unknown assailants for shooting at protesters.

Rights groups have held the military responsible for the violence before. But evidence of their use of live ammunition was rarely available. —AP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Iraqi town caught in middle of territory row TUZ KHURMATU, Iraq: Butcher Sherzad Saleh stands outside his shop in Tuz Khurmatu holding a dead chicken. He has more pressing concerns than a high-level dispute over territory. “The army comes here, this is my job; the peshmerga come here, this is my job,” says Saleh. He means forces from the federal government and from the autonomous Kurdistan region deployed in disputed areas of north Iraq, including near Tuz Khurmatu, during recent periods of high tension between the two sides. “I am not with the army or the peshmerga,” he says. “We want services, electricity, projects.”

But top federal and Kurdish politicians have other priorities. Whatever people like Saleh may wish for, Tuz Khurmatu, a town of low-rise buildings, palm trees and around 110,000 residents, is in a swathe of territory Kurdistan wants to incorporate into its autonomous region over Baghdad’s strong objections. Diplomats and officials believe this dispute over territory is the greatest threat to Iraq’s long-term stability.

The establishment in September of the federal Tigris Operations Command, which covers disputed northern territory, drew an angry response from Kurdish leaders and increased tensions with the federal government. Then on Nov 16, a firefight broke out during an attempt by Iraqi forces to arrest a Kurdish man in the town. One person was killed and others were wounded, further worsening relations between Baghdad and Kurdistan as both sides deployed reinforcements.

The crisis, which Iraq’s parliament speaker warned could lead to civil war, has since eased, but the dispute over territory remains unresolved. For the people of Tuz Khurmatu, simmer-

ing tensions between Baghdad and Kurdistan cause fear and are also bad for business. The “army came, and the peshmerga came; the people are afraid” and business suffered, Saleh says.

“We do not want a war to happen. There is killing in war, it would affect our circumstances... our work would stop,” says grocer Hisham Fateh Hamid.

Tuz Khurmatu is a town of mixed identities, a fact emphasised by its flags massive Kurdish flags

are emblazoned on hills to its east, Iraqi federal flags fly over official buildings and police checkpoints, and countless banners marking the death of a revered Shiite imam flutter from houses.

Many residents are Turkmen Shiites, hence the banners venerating Imam Ali, but Tuz Khurmatu also has Kurdish and Arab populations. Despite their mixed ethnicities, the people say the dispute between the Kurdish region and the Arabdominated government in Baghdad has not

TUZ KHURMATU, Iraq: A large Kurdish flag appears on a mountain in this town in northern Iraq’s Kirkuk province on Dec 27, 2012. — AFP

caused problems between residents. “There’s no difference between Turkmen or Arabs or Kurds,” says Saleh, a Kurd.

Shakir Ahmed, an Arab owner of a grocery shop, agrees, saying that “no tension has occurred between citizens”. But Tuz Khurmatu is caught in the middle anyway: Kurdish peshmerga forces are deployed on the hills east of the town, and Iraqi soldiers man checkpoints and reinforced positions to the south. Then there is a multiplicity of security forces inside Tuz Khurmatu local police, Iraqi federal police, Iraqi soldiers and Kurdish forces.

Territorial tensions are not the only issue in Tuz Khurmatu. There are also seemingly sectarian attacks, part of a broader problem across Iraq, in which Shiites are frequently targeted in bombings

by Sunni militants. On Dec 17, two car bombs exploded in a Turkmen area of the town, killing five people and wounding 26. Hamdi Ibrahim Samin’s wife was wounded in the head by one of the blasts which also smashed his house. An entire wall that used to hold a door has also been blown away, and a few meagre belongings including a fan and two worn benches are piled amid the rubble. “Nothing remains,” Samin says, as water from a broken pipe flows down a narrow street past other wrecked buildings near his home.

What Tuz Khurmatu ultimately needs, according to Shalal Baban, the administrative official responsible for the district, is development, not more military men and materiel. “We currently need projects, construction,” he says, noting the lack of even basic services such as clean drinking water. “We don’t need tanks, troop transports, armoured vehicles or planes,” Baban says. “We need projects.” — AFP

Brotherhood may pay price for currency fall Importers, shopkeepers see sharp inflation

KHARTOUM: Two Jordanian peacekeepers from the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Hassan Mazawdeh and Qasem Sarhan, are seen upon their arrival in Khartoum following their release from captivity yesterday. — AFP

Two Jordan peacekeepers abducted in Darfur freed KHARTOUM: Two tired-looking Jordanian peacekeepers arrived in the Sudanese capital yesterday after their release from a record 136 days of captivity in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region. Hassan Mazawdeh and Qasem Sarhan appeared to be in good condition but made no comment as they stood with an official from the Jordanian embassy and a senior member of the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), which employs them. “The two officers are in good health and have been released after four months as hostages,” Jordanian embassy charge d’affaires Riyadh al-Nigad told reporters.

UNAMID spokeswoman Aicha Elbasri told AFP that they had been held longer than anyone else in the five-year-old UNAMID mission, the world’s largest peacekeeping operation.

She said the men flew to Khartoum after their release earlier Wednesday in Zalingei, capital of the recently-created Central Darfur state, and would be returning home to Jordan.

An AFP reporter said the freed men, wearing civilian clothes, got into an ambulance at the Khartoum airport. They were to be checked in hospital after their release by “outlaws”, a

Sudanese intelligence officer said. The Jordanians went missing on Aug 20 in Kebkabiya town, about 140 km west of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state where the UN has warned in recent months of rising insecurity. Jordan welcomed their release.

“Police corporals Hassan Mazawdeh and Qasem Sarhan are now at the Jordanian mission, enjoying good health,” the kingdom’s Public Security Directorate said in a statement in Amman. “We thank the Sudanese government and the United Nations for their help, support and coordination.”

At the time of their disappearance, Jordan’s police directorate said the pair were among a group of peacekeepers buying supplies in a market but had failed to show up at a prearranged meeting point at the end of the trip.

Yesterday the Jordanian charge d’affaires said a Sudanese negotiation team in Darfur “facilitated their release”, working with a UN team and members of the Jordanian security service. An analyst has told AFP that it is often known very quickly who the kidnappers are, but negotiations take time. —AFP

Netanyahu list losing steam ahead of polls JERUSALEM: Just three weeks before snap elections, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint list is losing support and the premier could find himself constrained when it comes to forming the next government.

Netanyahu can still count on returning to the prime minister’s office, with the joint list of his Likud faction and the ultranationalist Israel Beitenu party retaining a lead in the polls ahead of the Jan 22 vote. But the list, announced last October, has seen that lead gradually eaten away, with the national religious Jewish Home faction in particular chipping away at its constituency.

That looks likely to leave Netanyahu less room to manoeuvre when it comes to forming his next government. A poll published by the Haaretz daily on Wednesday showed the Likud-Beitenu list expected to win 34 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, down one seat from a December 25 poll, and a loss of nine projected seats since the list was first announced. At that time, the parties expected to garner at least the 43 seats they currently hold - Likud’s 28 and Israel Beitenu’s 15.

That would have been enough for a commanding majority in the Knesset and a solid basis for a stable government, which is something of a rarity in Israel, where a profusion of parties often leads to fractious coalitions. That scenario seems increasingly unlikely, with polls projecting Jewish Home, under the guidance of its charismatic new leader Naftali Bennett, will take at least 14 seats in a stunning turnaround for a faction that currently holds just three seats. The party is even considered a real contender to become the Knesset’s second strongest player, overtaking the Labour party which is just clinging on to that title for now with 16 projected seats.

Israeli commentators say the Likud-Beitenu list has been the victim of poor prognostication, with Erel Segal, writing in the Maariv daily, laying the blame on consultant and Netanyahu advisor Arthur Finkelstein, who reportedly encouraged Likud and Israel Beitenu to join forces. “He spoke about 45 seats going to the united party. He was wrong,” Segal wrote. “And barring the emergence of results that are dramatically different in the actual elections, taking his advice will prove to have been a losing bet.” Segal pointed out that Netanyahu also appeared to have boosted Jewish Home, by attacking Bennett for comments he made suggesting he would refuse military orders to evacuate Jewish settlements.

Despite the fading fortunes of the LikudBeitenu list, the rightwing bloc of parties is still expected to win around 67 seats in the vote. But the relative success of Jewish Home could force Netanyahu to make concessions on cabinet posts that he had hoped to avoid with an overwhelming showing for his joint list. “If current polls turn out to be an accurate gauge... Netanyahu will be subjected to blackmail in the coalition negotiations,” Haaretz commentator Yossi Vertner wrote. “He would love to leave Bennett in the opposition. That is not likely to happen.”

One alternative could be for Netanyahu to form a coalition with a group of centre-left parties, including Labour, the HaTnuah faction led by former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, and the Yesh Atid party led by journalist Yair Lapid. “The centre and left parties failed to unite before the elections, but no one knows what will happen after the vote,” analyst Barak Ravid told military radio. “If they form a unified parliamentary bloc, Netanyahu will have to negotiate with them.” — AFP

CAIRO: Life in Egypt is about to get harder for ordinary people who will bear the brunt of inflation caused by a decline in the value of their currency. As elections approach, President Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood may pay a political price. After a 3.2 percent slide in the Egyptian pound’s value against the dollar this week, some importers and shopkeepers say they are factoring in an even bigger decline and that the uncertainty will be reflected in steep price rises. In a country that imports much of its food, including basics such as sugar, tea and cooking oil, that will be keenly felt. Around two fifths of Egyptians live on the poverty line on less than $2 a day an d depend on state-subsidised staples such as bread to get by.

Though the prices of state-subsidised basics will stay the same, the cost of other imported goods is about to go up, further stoking anger and resentment that is never far from the surface and increasing the potential for unrest. “We will be forced to raise the price - it’s not our choice, it’s not corporate greed - or we shut down,” said Sherif Abouzeid, executive manager of Global Counter and Trade Offset Co., which imports Indian tea for the lower end of the market.

“People are in despair. They are barely surviving and just able to feed their families. These are the type of clients we are working with. Now even their cup of tea is going to get more expensive.”

The pound continued its slide yesterday, weakening to 6.39 to the dollar, down from 6.185 last week. After Hosni Mubarak was toppled, the central bank used Egypt’s foreign reserves to defend the currency. As of last week, the pound had lost just 6 percent of its value in the 23 months of political instability since Mubarak’s fall. Signalling it no longer had enough reserves to defend the pound, the central bank on Sunday introduced a new system for selling dollars to preserve what foreign currency it has left. The reserves have fallen from $36 billion on the eve of the uprising that swept away Mubarak to around $15 billion in November - barely enough to cover three months worth of imports into the country of 83 million people.

The pound’s fall and the accompanying inflation will complicate the task facing Morsi as he tries to revive an economy broken by two years of turmoil. The confrontational politics of Egypt’s new democracy has already emerged as a major influencing factor. Facing a backlash in the street over his move to fast-track a constitution many see as repressive, Morsi last month postponed

CAIRO: An Egyptian woman walks past a shop in downtown Cairo yesterday. — AP tax rises believed to be part of an austerity package needed to secure an International Monetary Fund loan of $4.8 billion. Morsi finds himself with a stark choice: the IMF loan is viewed as essential to dig the country out of its financial crisis and avoid a potentially uncontrollable fall in the currency’s value. But to get the loan, Morsi would almost certainly have to press ahead with the unpopular measures.

Either option brings even higher political costs. As it gears up for new parliamentary polls due to begin in less than two months, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), has tried to distance itself from some of Morsi’s decisions. The FJP was the biggest party in the lower house of parliament that was dissolved in June by a court ruling. With the Brotherhood’s popularity already in retreat, the economy threatens to further undermine its performance in the coming polls.

Sensing the danger, some FJP members criticised Morsi’s tax increases. “The FJP is going to have to distance itself from some of the more confrontational policies. Whether or not that is going to be enough to address the concerns of voters, I don’t know,” said Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Center. “It will be interesting to see to what extent the voters lump Morsi, the Brotherhood and the FJP into the same basket.”

The Egyptian state has long subsidised a handful of basic goods including sugar, tea, rice and cooking oil - support vital to many families’ survival. It also subsidises saucer-sized flat loaves that sell for just 5 piastres (less than 1 US cent).

Samir Radwan, an economist who served as minister of finance from February to July 2011, said the poor would still be the most badly affected by price rises that he said would quickly filter into the shops. “There is a huge multiplier effect to any devaluation,” he said. “People take any opportunity to raise prices in a very exaggerated way.” “Egypt is a net importer of food - 40 percent of the food is imported - and a weaker pound means a higher food import bill. Then of course inflation will immediately follow and this hits the poor,” he said. Mahmoud Zada, owner of a chain of Cairo supermarkets, said he expected prices of imported goods to go up by a minimum of 30 percent. Eighty percent of the goods he sells are imported. Purveyors of imported goods would be inclined to increase their prices sharply for reasons including uncertainty about how far the pound will fall, he said. As it becomes harder for Egyptian importers to secure credit from overseas’ suppliers, they would also charge customers more to reflect risk premiums. “We are facing a very, very, very difficult rise - more than the rise in the dollar,” Zada said. — Reuters

American journalist kidnapped in Syria

James Foley

PARIS: A freelance American reporter who contributed videos to Agence France-Presse (AFP) in recent months was kidnapped in war-torn Syria six weeks ago and has been missing since, his family revealed yesterday.

US journalist James Foley, 39, an experienced war reporter who has covered other conflicts, was seized by armed men in the northern province of Idlib on November 22, according to witnesses. Foley who last supplied AFP with video material the day before he disappeared, was picked up in the town of Taftanaz by four men who later released his driver and translator, the witnesses said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions, in a country which has been racked by bitter civil war since the start of an uprising by rebels opposing President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime nearly two years ago.

Foley’s family, which had earlier asked media groups not to report the abduction in the hope that a low profile would assist in efforts to free him, broke their silence Wednesday to reveal his plight.

“We want Jim to come safely home, or at least we need to speak with him to know he’s okay,” said John Foley, father of the missing reporter who also contributes to the US-

based international news website GlobalPost and to major US TV channels. “Jim is an objective journalist and we appeal for the release of Jim unharmed. To the people who have Jim, please contact us so we can work together toward his release.”

The family has launched a website and Facebook page to highlight Foley’s ordeal.

The website, which has several pictures of Foley while on reporting assignments in the Middle East, says he has been missing for 41 days. It also urges people to sign an appeal for his release. Foley was previously kidnapped and held for six weeks by forces loyal to slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi while covering that civil war last year.At the time, he was working for GlobalPost which was involved in his rescue and which is standing by his family in the latest incident.

The reason for the men’s abduction in Syria remains unclear. It is not known if their abductors are financially motivated or if they are linked to any Islamist groups, rebels or pro-regime forces or sympathizers. Large parts of northern Syria are controlled by antiAssad rebel groups that form part of the Free Syrian Army or are made up of jihadists, including foreign fighters. —AFP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Chavez conscious, aware of ‘complex’ condition: VP Maduro slams rumours of president’s death

BOGOTA: Colombian businessman Miguel Caballero prepares to test fire a .38 caliber revolver against a leather jacket with bulletproof protection at his factory on Dec 28, 2012.— AFP

Colombia firm makes bulletproof kid clothes BOGOTA: Miguel Caballero has been making bulletproof clothes for politicians and other bigwigs for 20 years, but not for kids. The latest US school massacre has changed that. This year he plans a line for children - T-shirts, vests, and combination backpack-vests - and geared toward the US market. Caballero has made good money in his 22-year-old business with a factory on the outskirts of Bogota. He sells around 50,000 garments a year that go for about $2,000 a piece, but the US market had been tough to crack.

Then, after a lone and deranged gunman killed 20 small children and six staffers at Sandy Hook Elementary School last month in Newtown, Connecticut, he started getting orders from very worried parents. “We would answer that we do not make clothes for kids. But the emails kept coming,” Caballero said. So, in just a week, he designed garments and subjected them to ballistic tests. Now his factory is fitted to churn out a first lot of 1,800 bulletproof garments for children and is waiting for firm orders.

Carolina Ballesteros, Caballero’s director of research and development, said the impact of the Newtown shooting was huge because of the age of most of the victims: just six and seven. Asked how you explain to a child that simply going to school can be so dangerous you have to wear a bulletproof vest, Ballesteros explained that her company’s garments are not designed for everyday use. Rather, they are for emergencies, to be handed out by teachers when needed.

The new line is tailored for kids aged 8 to 16, with prices ranging from $200 to $400, depending on the garment and its size. Caballero’s factory employs 235 people, and 95 percent of its output is exported to 23 countries in the Middle East and Latin America. The company makes uniforms for security forces and suits for public figures in many countries, she said. “Three royal families in the Middle East are customers of ours. We made a bullet-proof kimono for the American actor Steven Seagal. Our experience is beyond question,” Ballesteros said. — AFP

27 juveniles stage jailbreak in Peru LIMA: At least 27 inmates at a notorious juvenile detention facility in Peru escaped, some staging a riot on New Year’s Eve as guards prepared festivities to ring in 2013, officials said yesterday. A first group of 13 made a run for freedom on New Year’s Eve, followed by 14 others who escaped late Tuesday when a tank truck entered the prison, prosecutor Jorge Sanz said. Police have recaptured eight of the inmates. The warden was fired and several guards were transferred to another facility while an investigation is being launched to determine if the prisoners got inside help, a statement from the Peruvian court system said.

The escape appears to have been led by a minor known as “Gringasho,” a hitman blamed for more than 10 murders,

according to local police chief Colonel Vladimir Gomez. “ The teenagers left through the front door,” Sanz told reporters, expressing surprise at the daring feat. He vowed a rigorous investigation to determine how the prison was breached. The Youth Rehabilitation Center of Lima, located in the coastal district of San Miguel, was designed to hold 370 adolescents but houses around 1,000.

Locals have complained that the jail is a source of constant danger, demanding its closure and transfer outside the metropolitan area. On Monday night, as guards prepared for New Year’s Eve, inmates staged a revolt and during the ensuing chaos subdued some guards and escaped, the statement said. — AFP

CARACAS: Hugo Chavez is conscious and fully aware of how “complex” his condition remains three weeks after difficult cancer surgery in Havana, the Venezuelan president’s handpicked successor said Tuesday. Vice President Nicolas Maduro, who accused the Venezuelan right of spreading what he described as sick lies and rumors about Chavez’s health, said that he had spoken to the ailing leader twice over the past three days. “He is absolutely aware of how complex the post-operative condition is,” Maduro said in an inter view from Havana with Telesur, a cable news channel funded by Venezuela and other Latin American states.

Maduro, who said he would be returning to Caracas yesterday, provided no specifics about Chavez’s condition but defended the government’s efforts to keep the public abreast of the president ’s health. He said Chavez demanded that “we should keep the people informed, always with the truth no matter how hard it might be in a given circumstance”.

“We are confronting a situation in which the president is being attended to, is undergoing his treatment, in a complex situation and the whole time we are awaiting a positive outcome,” Maduro added.”At times there have been slight improvements, at times there have been stationary situations.”

But he expressed confidence that “sooner rather than later ” Chavez would surmount the crisis, adding that Chavez had squeezed his hand “with gigantic force” while they talked. Maduro’s appeals for public confidence in the government’s information came amid a cascade of rumors on social networks like Twitter, including some that claimed Chavez was on life suppor t or was dead. “ What is behind the ill-intentioned rumors?

It is the evil and hatred of the enemies of Venezuela,” he said. “They are people who anybody could

CARACAS: A man reads the newspaper next to a graffiti depicting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (left) and South American independence hero Simon Bolivar yesterday. — AFP describe as mentally ill, sick with hatred, sick with evil.”

Official information about Chavez’s medical condition has been sketchy since Cuban doctors first detected a cancer in his pelvic region in June 2011. He has undergone four rounds of surgery, and multiple courses of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. But the type of cancer he suffers from has not been disclosed, nor has the prognosis. Meanwhile, political uncertainties have mounted even as Chavez won re -election in October to another six-year term in office. Chavez is supposed to be sworn in on Jan 10, but that seemed in jeopardy Tuesday, stoking the prospect of major upheaval in a nation that has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

The constitution demands that new elections be called within 30 days if Chavez, who has dominated Venezuelan political life since taking power in 1999, dies or is declared incapacitated before his

inauguration. But the key question is whether Chavismo, Chavez’s leftwing movement marked by patronage and generous government handouts to the poor, can survive without him. If new elections are held, opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who gave the comandante a good run for his money in the October election, might prevail and seek to begin a new era. For now, both the government and the opposition are leaving open the possibility of postponing the inauguration, depending on how Chavez ’s health evolves. Less than two years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine the country without the larger-than-life Chavez at the helm.

His outsized personality and bombastic style of governing did not permit the ascension of a heir apparent within his United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

Before leaving for Cuba last month, Chavez anointed Maduro a burly and mustachioed former

bus driver and union leader - as his successor. For many, that was a signal that the process of transition had begun. Venezuelans entered 2013 pondering what political life without Chavez might be like. New Year’s Eve revelry was tempered, and official celebrations - two open air concerts - were canceled out of respect for the ex-paratrooper who has irked the United States for years by aligning his nation with countries that Washington has hostile relations with, including Iran, Cuba and Syria.

With Chavez’s fate in the balance, many Venezuelans stayed close to home on the New Year holiday, leaving the normally trafficchoked streets of the capital virtually empty. Elisabeth Torres, who runs a food stand in 23 de Enero, a public housing complex that has long been a bastion of the left, said her family went to bed early on New Year’s Eve to pray for Chavez’s health. “We miss him, we love him,” she said. — AFP

School massacre survivors ready for class NEW YORK: Students at the elementary school where a gunman massacred 26 children and teachers last month were returning to class for the first time in a new building adapted to look exactly like their old one. Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut has been closed since the Dec 14 tragedy in which a 20year-old local man shot 20 small children and six staff members before committing suicide.

Yesterday, families were invited to inspect the new school in the nearby town of Monroe, where a disused facility has been prepared to resemble the old one, right down to the pictures on the walls and crayons on desks, ABC television reported.

In a message to parents on the school website, acting principal Donna Page, who replaces the slain school head Dawn

Hochsprung, insisted “the facility is safe, secure and fully operational”. Page said parents would be allowed to stay in the school when it opens for classes today, to provide reassurance to their children, many of whom witnessed to the bloodbath. “We understand many parents may need to be near their children on their first day(s) of school and you will be welcome. That being said, we encourage students to take the bus to school in order to help them return to familiar routines as soon as possible,” she wrote.

The shootings, in which Adam Lanza wielded a semi-automatic assault-style rifle, provoked a major national debate on gun control and a promise from President Barack Obama to back a bill outlawing militar y-type weapons. The killer, Adam Lanza, was laid to rest over the weekend

NEWTOWN, Connecticut: Children board a bus on the first day of classes after the holiday break yesterday. — AP after his father, a tax executive, retrieved his body from the authorities last week, a family spokesman said. Lanza’s mother,

whom he shot at their home just ahead of the school massacre, was buried in New Hampshire last month. — AFP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Bozize supporters erect roadblocks in Bangui BANGUI: Come nightfall, civilian supporters of besieged Central African Republic President Francois Bozize spread around the capital Bangui erecting roadblocks to prevent any rebel incursion. “Our motto is: our country or death. We will overcome,” said a young man standing at a checkpoint in the northern part of the capital. He is one of many citizen volunteers calling themselves “patriots” who are deployed in the president’s neighbourhood, which is on the road to the north where the rebels have taken up position, and elsewhere in the city.

In a month-long offensive, the Seleka rebel coalition has seized many key towns and cities, come within 160 km of Bangui, and threatened to seize the capital. But the commander of the regional African force FOMAC yesterday warned the rebels against any attempt to take Damara, the last strategic town between them and Bangui. “Let it be clear, we will not give up Damara,” said General JeanFelix Akaga. “If the rebels attack Damara that would amount to a declaration of war and would mean that they have decided to engage the 10 central African states,” he told reporters in Bangui.

Even if the front has stabilised with the arrival of soldiers from surrounding countries and France, the city remains

tense. “In the current context, it’s a national cause,” said a muscular young man wearing a Michael Jordan jersey.

“The rebels occupy the whole territory.

We cannot ask the army and the police to secure the neighbourhoods,” he said.

In the afternoon, this poor neighbourhood of homes made of red earth and sheet metal or straw roofs appears to lead a peaceful life. But on the dirt roads, tyres, pickets and large stones form roadblocks at night.

“We do this to detect the rebels who enter via the hills,” said a young man, who like the others asked to remain anonymous.”It seems that the motorcycle taxis make up the centrepiece of the distribution of munitions and weapons.

They circulate freely on side roads. We are reassured with these checkpoints,” said one man.

A security official who asked not to be named said that during the capture of the cities of the north, where they launched their offensive on Dec 10, the rebels slipped into built-up areas in twos and threes before mounting their attacks. The main opposition leader Martin Ziguele, a former prime minister, denounced the use of what he called “auxillary forces” and expressed fear that the country was “turning into a non-state.”

The methods of detecting rebels

appear summary. “We ask for papers, we verify if the person speaks Sango or French. If he doesn’t, he is automatically a suspect and we take them to the police station,” a volunteer said. A national language, Sango is not spoken by the people of the north, a mainly Muslim region where the majority of the rebels come from, and the residents of Bangui see them as foreigners. A resident of the neighborhood admitted he was “living with fear in the stomach”.

Another said people were distributing “machetes to the idle” and that young people were abducting many Muslims suspected of complicity with the rebels. Overnight Monday, a young Muslim questioned by these militias tried to escape and was shot dead by soldiers. But the “patriots” defend their decision to track Muslims. “There is no hunt for Muslims. It’s the rebels who say that to influence the international community,” one of them said. “We search containers to make sure people do not come in with weapons,” another explained.

Bozize supporters said a shoe shiner was caught with munitions in his supplies. In addition to erecting roadblocks, which are manned by about a dozen people doing shifts, the “patriots” said they conduct street patrols day and night. “In our neighbourhood, we were told that a

man belonged to a rebel group in the bush. We burned down his house four days ago,” a man at a checkpoint said. All the volunteers insisted their actions were legal, carried out without aggressiveness.

Several witnesses said many of those manning the roadblocks are armed with machetes and bows and arrows, or kokoras, the term in Sango.

And they call themselves the Citizen Coalition Opposed to the Armed Rebels, or COCORA, the French acronym. But the supporters denied the accusations. “We don’t have weapons. We are not soldiers,” one said. “We are united and we are numerous. Our strength is the group. “Ours is a noble cause.” — AFP

DAMARA, Central African Republic: Passengers ride on a car carrying sacks of food, bedding, and animals for bushmeat on the front heading away from Damara about 70 km north of the capital Bangui yesterday. — AP

Central Africa rebels agree to peace talks Seleka halt advance on capital

ABIDJAN: A man lays flowers yesterday near a tree in the street of Abidjian where at least 61 persons died in a stampede among crowds gathered for celebratory New Year’s Eve fireworks. — AFP

Stampede survivors blame barricades ABIDJAN: Survivors of a stampede in Ivory Coast that killed 61 people, most of them children and teenagers, after a New Year’s Eve fireworks display said Wednesday that makeshift barricades stopped them from moving along a main boulevard, causing the crush of people. Ivory Coast police said unknown people put tree trunks across the Boulevard de la Republic where the trampling took place. “For security, because there were so many important people at the event, we closed certain main streets,” said a police officer who was overheard briefing Ivory Coast President Alassane Outtara on the incident.

“After the fireworks we reopened the other streets, but we had not yet removed the tree trunks from the Boulevard de la Republic, in front of the Hotel Tiana near the National Assembly (parliament) building,” she said. “That is where the stampede happened when people flooded in from the other streets.”

Ouattara ordered three days of national mourning and launched an investigation into the causes of the tragedy but two survivors, in interviews with The Associated Press, indicated why so many died in what would normally be an open area, the Boulevard de la Republic. An estimated 50,000 people had gathered near the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium and elsewhere in Abidjan’s Plateau district to watch the fireworks. As they streamed away from the show some encountered the blockades.

“Near the Justice Palace we were stopped by some people who put blockades of wood in the street,” 33year-old Zoure Sanate said from her bed in Cocody Hospital. “They told us we must stay in the Plateau area until morning. None of us accepted to stay in Plateau until the morning for a celebration that ended at around 1 am. “Then came the stampede of people behind us,” she said. “My four children and I were knocked to the ground. I was hearing my kids calling me, but I was powerless and fighting against death.

Two of my kids are in hospital with me, but two others are missing. They cannot be found.”

Another hospital patient, Brahima Compaore, 39, said he also was caught in the pile of people stopped by the roadblock. “I found myself on the ground and people were walking on me,” said Compaore. “I was

only saved by people who pulled me onto the sidewalk.” Local newspapers are speculating that thieves put up the roadblocks so that pickpockets could steal money and mobile phones from the packed-in people. Ouattara pledged to get answers. Some observers wondered why police did not prevent the tragedy.

“The investigation must take into account all the testimonies of victims,” he said yesterday. “We will have a crisis center to share and receive information.”

Ouattara also postponed the traditional New Year’s receptions at his residence, which had been scheduled for today and tomorrow. The leader of a human rights organization said that deadly incidents were predictable because the police and civil authorities had not taken adequate protective measures. “The situation is deplorable,” said Thierry Legre, president of the Ivorian League of Human Rights. “It is our first tragedy of 2013 but in 2012 we could already see possibility of such a tragedy because there are not adequate authorities patrolling our roads and waters.”

Legre said the New Year’s stampede “exposes our weak and dysfunctional civil protection system. This must be corrected immediately. The government cannot invite people to this kind of public gathering without taking adequate precautions to protect their safety and their lives.” He called on the government “to implement measures to avoid such tragedies in the future by reinforcing the civil protection system.” The government organized the fireworks to celebrate Ivory Coast’s peace, after several months of political violence in early 2011 following disputed elections.

Just one night before the New Year’s incident, there had been a big concert at the Felix HouphouetBoigny Stadium where American rap star Chris Brown performed. That Sunday night event was for the Kora Awards for African musicians. No serious incidents were reported from that event. In 2009, 22 people died and over 130 were injured in a stampede at a World Cup qualifying match at the Houphouet Boigny Stadium, prompting FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, to impose a fine of tens of thousands of dollars on Ivory Coast’s soccer federation. The stadium, which officially holds 35,000, was overcrowded at the time of the disaster.—AP

Nigerian leader says most bombing suspects arrested ABUJA: Nigerian police have arrested most of the suspects in bombings that killed hundreds of people in the past two years, President Goodluck Jonathan said. An Islamist insurgency in Nigeria’s impoverished north has intensified since Jonathan, a southern Christian, came to office in 2010. It represents the most serious threat to Africa’s most populous nation.

At least 32 people have died in the past week in gun and bomb attacks in the northeast, where Islamist group Boko Haram is strongest, but Jonathan said the violence was temporary.

“Most of these terror suspects have been arrested,” he said at a New Year’s Day church service in the capital Abuja on Tuesday. “These people involved in some of these crimes - like bombing of the Catholic Church in Niger state, bombing of the United Nations building, bombing of the police headquarters - have been arrested. These are momentary challenges.” He

did not say who was detained and when, or whether they would face trial. The attacks he listed all took place in 2011. Jonathan has said several times that the authorities are winning the battle against Boko Haram, but officials have given few details on how they are clamping down on its activities.

A ramp-up in security across northern towns and cities ensured Christmas violence was more muted than in the previous two years, when dozens were killed in church bombings. Boko Haram, which is loosely based on the Afghan Taleban, is trying to impose Islamic law on the country of more than 160 million, which is split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.

Jonathan has been criticised for using solely a military approach to the unrest, pushing young Muslims disillusioned with his government into joining Boko Haram. — Reuters

BANGUI: Rebels in the Central African Republic said yesterday they were suspending their advance and would hold peace talks with the government, after regional armies sent reinforcements to stop them reaching the capital. The Seleka rebel coalition’s lightning three-week advance from the north of the country to within striking distance of the capital Bangui in the south has raised fears of a spreading crisis and drawn regional calls for negotiations with the government in the Gabonese capital Libreville. “I confirm that we have decided to suspend the offensive towards Bangui, and that we will send a delegation to Gabon to participate in peace talks,” said rebel spokesman Eric Massi.

He said the rebels were nevertheless still demanding the departure of President Francois Bozize, whom they accuse of failing to honour a 2007 peace deal. Bozize has said he is ready for unconditional talks toward forming a power-sharing government. “The departure of President Bozize is still one of our demands because we do not believe he is sincere,” said Massi. “The Seleka coalition is however in favour of peace, and we have always said we do not want to enter Bangui.”

Other rebel representatives said no timetable for peace talks had been set yet.

“Central Africa has not organised anything for the moment,” said Guy Simplice Koudegue, a spokesman for the Republican Front for Alternation and Peace, a political coalition recently formed in Paris that backs the rebels’ demands. “The negotiations are being prepared, but it seems that central Africa is waiting for its full force to be in Bangui.” Central African nations have begun sending reinforcements to Damara, the last major town between the rebels and the capital, to bolster the Central African Republic’s army against the rebels.

The regional troops are fighting under the banner of multinational African force FOMAC, which was launched in 2008 by the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) in a bid to stabilise the coup- and rebellion-prone country.

Northern neighbour Chad, whose President Idriss Deby is an ally of Bozize, has contributed most of the troops to the force, which will reach its full strength of 760 by the end of the week.

FOMAC’s commander sternly warned the rebels yesterday against trying to take Damara -which sits between Bangui and the rebel-held town of Sibut, 160 km from the capital. “Let it be clear, we will not give up Damara,” said General Jean-Felix Akaga.

“If the rebels attack Damara that would amount to a declaration of war and would mean that they have decided to engage the 10 central African states,” he told reporters in Bangui. “I honestly don’t think they will go that far.”

Akaga said Bangui was well secured by FOMAC troops and called Damara a “red line” that FOMAC would not allow either side to cross. He also said the rebels appeared to be a motley crew. “We do not have direct contact with the rebels, and no one can know their exact number. It would surprise me if the rebels themselves know how many they are. It’s a mixture of multiple movements,” he said.

In the centre of the country, residents of the village of Ngakobo said four people had died in clashes between villagers and rebels that broke out when a group of rebels tried to loot a local sugar refinery.

Residents saw the rebels raiding the refinery Tuesday and attacked the ambulance they were trying to use to cart off their loot,

DAMARA: Chadian soldiers, part of a convoy of the FOMAC multinational force of central African states, man a position yesterday. — AFP slashing its tyres, a resident told AFP by phone on condition of anonymity. “The rebels were furious and opened fire on the residents. They killed two of them. After that, clashes broke out and two rebels were stabbed to death,” he said. The same refinery had already been looted once on Sunday, residents said.

Sudan’s military meanwhile said yesterday that it had evacuated more than 40 Sudanese nationals, as well as some Yemeni, Egyptian and Chadian citizens, from the Central African Republic because of the rebel advance toward the capital. In Bangui, civilian supporters of Bozize have

taken to erecting roadblocks to prevent any rebel incursion, stopping vehicles to check whether the occupants speak Sango or French. A national language, Sango is not spoken by the people of the north, a mainly Muslim region where the majority of the rebels come from.

“In our neighbourhood, we were told that a man belonged to a rebel group in the bush. We burned down his house four days ago,” a man at a checkpoint said. Overnight Monday, a young Muslim questioned by these militias tried to escape and was shot dead by soldiers, setting off clashes in which a police officer was killed. — AFP

Angola stampede death toll hits 16 LUANDA: The official death toll from a stampede at a New Year’s Eve evangelical vigil in Angola rose to 16 yesterday, as witnesses said the tragedy was caused by a scramble for sachets of holy water. “We confirm the death of 16 people, including four children, due to asphyxia, shoving and trampling of faithful at the entrance of Cidadela Stadium,” Paulo Gaspar de Almeida, deputy commander-general of the Angolan police, told AFP. Authorities probing how the disaster happened have discovered that the 80,000-seater stadium in the capital Luanda was packed to nearly double its capacity as turnout far exceeded expectations.

“The police, fire-fighters and health services and church leaders, all of us, were overwhelmed by the numbers of people who descended on Cidadela Stadium,” said Gaspar de Almeida. The initial death toll had stood at 10.

Police did not give further details on the six latest deaths. Worshipper

Marcelina Baptista said people were crushed when they tried to grab sachets of water believed to have supernatural powers. “The chaos began with the arrival of the last batch of people from Luanda’s outlying neighbourhoods, through the entrance... where sachets of blessed water were placed. Everyone wanted to reach for one. That is what caused the stampede,” she said.

The vigil was organised by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, which was founded in Brazil in 1977 and boasts of more than a million followers in Angola, according to the culture ministry. Its overnight New Year’s Eve prayer vigil in Luanda is an annual event. The church has denied responsibility for the tragedy. “We sought clearance to hold the service 20 days ago, and we were granted permission,” Ferner Batalha, a bishop, told AFP. Of the over 100 wounded during the crush, 25 sustained serious injuries, he said. — AFP

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

international

Afghan refugees shiver at another deadly winter KABUL: Hundreds of families living in makeshift shelters around the Afghan capital collected blankets, charcoal and other supplies yesterday as authorities struggle to avoid a repeat of last winter’s deaths. With temperatures dropping to -10 Celsius at night in Kabul, the 35,000 refugees who live in snow-covered camps face a battle to survive dire conditions protected only by plastic sheeting. Despite Afghanistan receiving billions of dollars of aid since 2001, more than 100 children died last year during the harshest winter in two decades, and the UN refugee agency UNHCR has co-ordinated efforts to reduce repeat fatalities.

“Last year was the worst, and the weather is again turning bad,” Sayed Ullah, 40, said as he lined up for a large package containing tarpaulins, cooking oil fortified with vitamins and warm clothing for adults and children. “I live in some ruins with my wife and four children, and we don’t have any heat or enough food,” said Ullah, who was maimed in a mine

explosion several years ago that left him missing several fingers.

“We fled to Kabul from Logar province due to the violence and I have no income except for just a bit of labouring work. We need help to get through the winter.”

UNHCR said it had funded and organised distribution of aid to more than 32,000 “internally displaced” families across the country since November and that 240,000 Afghans would receive winter assistance through its scheme.

At least two deaths from the cold have already been confirmed this year, a three-year-old and a new-born infant in the Charahi Qambar refugee camp in the west of Kabul. Last year’s death toll sparked anger over the government’s failure to protect people, even in Kabul. Emergency relief was eventually shipped into the camps by the US military, international groups and charities.

“Poverty, conflict and lack of development are longstanding problems which leave many people vulnerable,” said Douglas

DiSalvo, a UNHCR official at the distribution centre. “We can provide assistance but people still live without proper hygiene, sanitation and protection from the weather and that must be tackled. We have been working with the government and others intensively to prepare for the worse winter period, which may still lie ahead.”

The government yesterday said it was working to prevent winter deaths among camp residents in response to widespread criticism last year. “Close monitoring and additional resources will be needed throughout the winter,” Jamaher Anwary, minister for refugees, told reporters. Kabul officials want the 55 camps in the city to be cleared and refugees to return to their home provinces, but many say it is too dangerous due to the Taliban insurgency against the US-backed government. The UNHCR called for refugees to be spared the threat of eviction by providing them with adequate shelter in Kabul or elsewhere. —AFP

HERAT, Afghanistan: An Afghan man sits with his children amid thick blankets at a refugee camp yesterday. —AFP

Gang-rapists tried to run over victim Court may suspend lawmakers facing crimes

SWABI, Pakistan: Relatives and mourners carry the body of aid worker Lubna Mahmoud, 26, who was killed on Tuesday by gunmen during her funeral procession yesterday. —AP

Pakistanis bury slain teachers, aid workers SWABI, Pakistan: Hundreds of villagers in northwest Pakistan turned out yesterday to bury five female teachers and two health workers who were gunned down a day earlier by militants in what may have been the latest in a series of attacks targeting anti-polio efforts in the country. The seven had worked at a community center in the town of Swabi that included a primary school and a medical clinic that vaccinated children against polio.

Some militants oppose the vaccination campaigns, accusing health workers of acting as spies for the US and alleging the vaccine is intended to make Muslim children sterile.

As mourners carried the coffins through the town for burial yesterday, family and friends expressed horror that such an attack had struck their community. “I told her many times at home ‘be careful as we are poor people and take care of yourself all the time,’” said Fazal Dad, whose daughter was among the seven killed. “And always in response she said: ‘Father, if I am not guilty no one can harm me.’”

The group was on their way home from the community center where they were employed by a non-governmental organization when their vehicle was attacked Tuesday. The four militants on motorcycles spared the young son of one of the women who was riding in the van, pulling him from the vehicle before spraying it with bullets. The driver survived and was being treated at a Peshawar hospital.

There has been no claim of responsibility, and police have not made any arrests.

The director of the NGO said he suspected the attack might have been retribution for the group’s work helping vaccinate Pakistani children against polio. Javed Akhtar said the community group has suspended its operations throughout the province. He called the move “temporary” but said he did not know when they would resume their work. Many local residents view the girls’ primary school and medical clinic run by the NGO at the community center as saviors for the community’s poor.

Now many are worried about what will happen if those services are cut off.

Gul Afzal Khan, a villager whose children studied at a community center run by the group, said the attack was a big loss. “What is their crime?” he asked. “They were just giving free education and health assistance to our

children.” The attack also was another reminder of the risks to women educators and aid workers from Islamist militants who oppose their work. Last month, nine people working on an anti-polio vaccination campaign were shot and killed. Four of those shootings were in the northwest where Tuesday’s attack took place.

The charity, Support With Working Solution, has temporarily suspended its operations, police also told AFP. “The NGO has suspended its activities for three days to mourn the deaths. They will decide after three days whether to start work again or not,” said Abdul Rashid Khan, the police chief of Swabi. The organisation runs dozens of health and education projects, including polio vaccinations, in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Health and education programs, particularly those for girls, are seen as being at particular risk.

Yesterday, an umbrella organisation of around 200 charities in the northwest demanded better protection, but vowed to continue working in order not to encourage “those who are opposed to progress”. “We have to stand up and foil the nefarious designs of anti-state elements who are bent upon destroying the fabric of civil society. We all have to strengthen our voice otherwise we will perish,” said the Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network. It demanded government protection for charity workers “vulnerable to the menace of terrorism” but some charity workers express doubt about government capacity.

On Dec 22, Bashir Bilour, a senior minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and eight others were killed in a suicide attack on a political meeting claimed by the Taleban. “How can a state protect its people if it can’t protect its ministers?” asked Imran Takkar, program manager of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child. Islamabad says more than 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism in the country since the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Imtiaz Iltaf, police chief of Peshawar, said officers were preparing a strategy to protect aid workers. “We are in a state of war. The whole country is facing an insurgency, so we are revising the present security steps and working on a new strategy,” he said. —Agencies

NEW DELHI: A gang of rapists who savagely assaulted a woman on a bus in New Delhi tried to run her over after the fatal attack, reports said yesterday, citing a police account of the incident. Her boyfriend, who was beaten up and thrown off the bus after the woman had been repeatedly raped, managed to pull her to safety just in time, police are set to allege in a 1,000-page charge sheet to be presented in court today. The 23-yearold female medical student, whose ordeal last month has brought simmering anger about widespread sex crime in India to the boil, bit three of her attackers as she attempted to fight them off, local newspapers and TV reports said.

These injuries on the suspects, as well as forensic evidence such as blood, semen and hair samples and the testimony of her injured boyfriend, are expected to form the main evidence against the accused, reports and police sources said. Five men have been arrested and are expected today to formally face murder and rape charges in a fasttrack court set up to try them. A sixth suspect is believed to be 17 years old, meaning he would be tried in a juvenile court, and police are conducting bone tests to determine his age.

Lawyers at the Saket district court in south Delhi, where hearings are set to begin, told AFP yesterday that they would not defend the men, meaning that the government would have to appoint advocates for them. “We have decided that no lawyer will stand up to defend the rape accused, as it would be immoral to defend the case,” Sanjay Kumar, a lawyer and member of the Saket District Bar Council, told AFP. Kumar said the 2,500 advocates at the court have decided to “stay away” to ensure “speedy justice”.

India’s Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Tuesday that the suspects risked the death penalty if found guilty, adding that the case against them appeared very strong. The Times of India newspaper reported that the charge sheet was likely to begin with details on how the driver of the private vehicle, who allegedly took part in the rape, got his group of friends together and set out for a joyride. One of the charges against the accused relates to the destruction of evidence, the paper said, since the driver had tried to wash the bus and had burned the clothes that were snatched from the victim.

The woman died at the weekend after a 13-day struggle to sur-

vive injuries so grievous that her intestines had to be removed. She also underwent three major surgeries and suffered a cardiac arrest before being flown to Singapore.

The brutality and horrific nature of the attack has led to protests in the capital and elsewhere, and has prompted calls for the death penalty for the rapists. Several hundred people took part in a solidarity march for women yesterday organised by the Delhi government which ended at Rajghat, the

Twitter. Victims of sex crimes are granted anonymity to avoid them or their families facing stigma from the crime. Meanwhile, Indian lawmakers facing sexual assault charges against women could be suspended from office if the country’s top court rules in favor of a petition submitted following a gang-rape and murder that shocked the country. Six state lawmakers are facing rape prosecutions and two national parliamentarians are facing charges of crimes against women that fall

fast-track thousands of rape cases that have languished in India’s notoriously sluggish court system for years.

In the past five years, political parties across India nominated 260 candidates awaiting trial on charges of crimes against women, he said. Parties ran six candidates for the national parliamentary elections facing such charges, Chokkar said. “We need to decriminalize politics and surely a serious effort has to be made to stop people who

NEW DELHI: Indian women carry placards and banners as they offer prayers for the gang-rape victim at Mahatma Gandhi memorial yesterday. —AP memorial for slain independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.

Prayers were held for the victim, whose ashes were scattered in the river Ganges on Tuesday by her distraught family. The central government, which has faced a wave of public anger over the attack, has set up a special committee to look into women’s safety and the police, while a separate panel will recommend changes to the law. Junior Education Minister Shashi Tharoor sparked a controversy yesterday when he suggested that a proposed new antirape law to toughen sentences against sex offenders be named after the dead student. While much of her identity is known, her name has not been disclosed. “Unless her parents object, she should be honoured and the revised anti-rape law named after her,” Tharoor wrote on

short of rape, said Jagdeep S Chhokar, an official with the Association for Democratic Reforms, which tracks political candidate’s criminal records. The petition will be heard today.

The Dec 16 rape triggered outrage across the country and sparked demands for stronger laws, tougher police action against those accused of sexual assault and a sustained campaign to change society’s views on women. As part of that campaign, Chief Justice Altamas Kabir agreed to hear a petition from retired government administrator Promilla Shanker asking the Supreme Court to suspend all lawmakers from the national and state legislatures who are facing prosecution for crimes against women. She also asked the court to force the national government to

have serious charges of sexual assault against them from contesting elections,” said Zoya Hasan, a political analyst.

The family of the victim is struggling to come to grips with the tragedy. “She was a very, very, very cheerful little girl and she was peace loving and she was never embroiled in any controversies like this. I don’t know why this happened to her,” her uncle, Suresh Singh, told AP yesterday.

The family of the victim called for stronger rape laws to prevent such attacks from happening again and demanded swift - and harsh - justice for woman’s assailants, Singh said. “If the government can’t punish them, give the rapists to the people. The people will settle the scores with them,” he said. —Agencies

Hekmatyar vows fresh attacks on NATO troops

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

LONDON: Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar vowed in an interview published yesterday to kill as many Western soldiers as possible before NATO combat forces withdraw from the country in 2014.

Hekmatyar, a former prime minister who leads Afghanistan’s second largest militant group Hezb-iIslami, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper that fresh attacks would send a warning to “others waiting to invade Afghanistan”. “Before the withdrawal of invading forces, the Mujahideen would like to witness with their own eyes a scene that will teach the invaders to never think of coming this way again,” he said in a video obtained by the Telegraph in response

to questions asked through an intermediary.

Hekmatyar, designated a global terrorist by the United States, warned that Afghanistan could collapse into bloody civil unrest after NATO troops withdraw, 13 years after the US-led invasion. “The fact is that the government has failed,” said the former premier, who is shown in the video with a white beard and wearing a black turban. “We might have a dreadful situation after 2014 which no one could have anticipated.” NATO is aiming to train 350,000 Afghan soldiers and police by the end of 2014 to take over responsibility for security.

But trust between the two sides has been seriously undermined by “insider” attacks by Afghan forces that

killed more than 60 foreign troops in 2012, and the transition process has been beset by other problems including desertions. Hekmatyar indicated that Hezb-iIslami, notorious for its bloody siege of Kabul in the 1990s, has softened some of its hardline Islamist policies such as banning women from education. He condemned the Pakistani Taleban’s blocking of girls’ schooling, which was thrown into the spotlight in October by its attempted murder of 15-year-old education campaigner Malala Yousafzai on her school bus. He insisted that Hezb-i-Islami “consider education is as necessary for girls as it is for boys”, though they object to combined male and female classes.

The former premier also blasted Britain’s Prince Harry, who has been serving in Afghanistan since September as an Apache helicopter pilot, as a “jackal” who was “drunk” while on duty. “The British prince comes to Afghanistan to kill innocent Afghans while he is drunk,” Hekmatyar told the Telegraph. Britain’s ministry of defence said it was “simply absurd” to suggest that the third-in-line to the throne or any other member of the British armed forces was conducting operations under the influence of alcohol. “The consumption of alcohol by UK military personnel is not permitted under any circumstances while deployed in Afghanistan,” a ministry spokesman said. —AFP

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Yellow is the new red on China’s roads BEIJING: Drivers in China are seeing red over a new crackdown on running through intersections when the lights are yellow. While announcing new rules that double the penalty for traffic light violations, officials also have stressed that running a yellow light will now be considered equivalent to running a red one. Drivers accustomed to considering the yellow light a warning and the red light an imperative have been left confused, wondering how they can stop suddenly for a yellow light.

Even the official Xinhua News Agency has joined the criticism. In a “micro-commentary” on

its Twitter-like Sina Weibo account, Xinhua cited pioneering physicist Isaac Newton on the difficulty of stopping the momentum of something in motion, saying the new rules are “unreasonable and contrary to Newton’s first law.” Police nationwide must enforce the new guidelines on stopping on both red and yellow to protect people’s safety, said Li Qing, an official from the Ministry of Public Security’s Traffic Administration, in an interview on China Central Television.

Under the new rules that went into effect Tuesday, penalties for traffic light violations doubled to six points on the 12-point scale for losing

a license. If your vehicle is already partly over the line when the light changes from green to yellow, you may continue. Otherwise, you must stop, Li said. In some cities, the traffic lights count down the seconds until the color changes, but this isn’t always the case, including at many intersections in Beijing. The new rules have sparked outrage online from irate drivers, who have complained of the dangers of stopping short in front of other drivers or the inconvenience of always having to slow down when approaching intersections.

In a comment that has been forwarded more than 23,000 times, one driver wrote on Weibo

that he had smashed into the back of a car that had suddenly stopped for a yellow light. “I would like to say whoever made this yellow light rule must be stupid and evil. Everybody, when you are 1 kilometer away from the lights start to slow down ... I wish you the best of luck,” wrote Beijing-based Sun Yixuan. “Netizens say it is difficult to stop on a yellow light. If you reduce your speed to very slow as you come up to the junction, this leads to unbearable traffic congestion,” Xinhua said. Road accidents in China are frequent, due in part to bad driving habits and poorly maintained vehicles. — AP

South Korea cagey on Kim’s New Year speech Analysts see push for reforms

MANILA: In this Tuesday photo, 7-year-old Stephanie Nicole Ella lays in a bed as her parents aid in giving her life support while being treated at the East Avenue Medical Center after she was hit in the head by a stray bullet while watching fireworks with her family during New Year’s Eve revelry in suburban Quezon city. — AP

Filipino child dies from New Year Eve shooting MANILA: A 7-year-old girl died yesterday after being hit in the head by a stray bullet during New Year’s Eve revelry in the Philippines, heightening calls to halt one of Asia’s most violent celebrations of the new year. Stephanie Nicole Ella was watching fireworks with her family in their workingclass neighborhood in Manila’s suburban Caloocan city when she suddenly collapsed, blood spurting from her head. As she fought for her life in a government hospital, watched by her stunned parents, extensive media coverage of her ordeal turned her into a symbol of widespread concern over the violent celebrations.

Nearly 700 people were injured by firecrackers, including many illegally large types, and by celebratory gunfire on the days leading to the new year despite government warnings and a crackdown on prohibited firecrackers and gun firing. A boy also died when he was accidentally shot in the back with a homemade shotgun by an intoxicated man in Mandaluyong city in the capital at the height of New Year’s revelry, police said, adding a suspect has been arrested. At least 40 people were injured by

stray bullets during the New Year revelries, according to police.

Stephanie, an award-winning student, “dreamed at a young age to become rich to help us,” her distraught father, Jay Ella, told reporters. “This tragedy is a sobering reminder of how a reprehensible act from a thoughtless individual can rob our people, particularly our children, of their futures,” President Benigno Aquino III’s spokesman, Edwin Lacierda, said in a statement. “For such a promising life to be lost in such a senseless way puts the burden on all of us to make certain that this tragedy is not repeated.”

Many Filipinos, largely influenced by Chinese tradition, believe that noisy New Year’s celebrations drive away evil and misfortune. But they have carried that superstition to extremes, exploding dangerously huge firecrackers and firing guns to welcome the new year despite threats of arrest. Although the number of injuries has tapered off in recent years, largely due to hard economic times and government scare campaigns, the figures remain alarming. — AP

PHUKET: In this photo taken Tuesday, Rohingya refugees sit in a boat as they are intercepted by Thai authorities. — AP

Rohingya boatpeople to be repatriated to Myanmar PHUKET, Thailand: Officials say 73 refugees from Myanmar’s Rohingya minority found adrift off a Thai resort island will be repatriated to their homeland. Phuket provincial Governor Maitri Inthusut said Wednesday they declared they were unable to continue their hoped-for journey to Malaysia due to exhaustion and fear of mishaps at sea.

Maitri said 12 children were among the 73 refugees, all of whom will be sent

back to Myanmar by land on transport provided by Thai immigration police.

Thai authorities on Tuesday had supplied medicine, food and fuel to the asylum seekers, so they could continue their journey. Thai policy is to not accept boat people but to aid them in reaching a third country. Sectarian violence last year in Myanmar involving the Rohingya left hundreds dead and many more homeless. — AP

SEOUL: South Korea yesterday played down a rare New Year’s message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un as “bland” despite his apparent overture to Seoul about reducing tensions. But analysts said Kim’s call for a “radical turnabout” in his impoverished country’s economy could signal a more determined push for reforms to the moribund state-directed system.

“The message was bland and there were no ground-breaking proposals,” Unification Minister Yu Woo-Ik, who handles cross-border affairs, told reporters. Kim’s speech Tuesday was the first of its kind for 19 years, since the death of his grandfather and the North’s founding president Kim Il-Sung. His late father Kim Jong-Il almost never addressed large public gatherings.

The young leader stressed the need to build up the economy and ease tensions with the South. “An important issue in putting an end to the division of the country and achieving its reunification is to remove confrontation between the North and the South,” he said. “The past records of inter-Korean relations show that confrontation between fellow countrymen leads to nothing but war.”

Kim praised the North’s successful longrange rocket launch last month, and said a similar national effort was now needed to strengthen the economy and improve living standards.

The year 2013 will be one of “great creations and changes in which a radical turnabout will be effected”, he said, adding that “the building of an economic giant is the most important task” facing the country. He offered no details of how life could be bettered in his nation, where millions struggle daily to feed themselves, according to UN agencies. Industries battle crippling shortages of power and raw materials.

There were reports last year of policy trials, including incentives for workers and farmers to boost productivity. One reported change would see the North’s regime taking only 70 per cent of the harvest from collective farms, allowing farmers to keep or sell the rest. But a rare parliamentary session ended last September with no mention of such moves. However, analysts said the

speech could signal a renewed focus on limited change.

“Kim Jong-Un’s New Year speech hints that North Korea will be much more active in pursuing economic reform this year, especially after he successfully consolidated his grip on his people through the rocket launch,” said Chang Yong-Seok of Seoul National University’s Institute for Peace and Unification. Chang told

news agency. Yang Moo-Jin, of Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies, said the general tone of Kim’s speech was positive. “It might signal limited economic reforms this year and also sends a message to South Korea’s incoming president about a desire for improved cross-border relations,” Yang told AFP Tuesday. Presidentelect Park Geun-Hye, who will take office in South Korea in February, has signalled a desire

SEOUL: South Korean dancers in traditional costumes beat their drums during opening ceremony of the Year 2013 trading outside the Seoul Stock Exchange yesterday — AP AFP the North was likely to introduce greater incentives for farms and factories and ease state controls over businesses. It might also actively attract foreign investment, especially from China, in special economic zones.

Kim was putting great emphasis on improving people’s livelihoods, political science professor Yoo Ho-Yeol of Korea University told Yonhap

for greater engagement with Pyongyang.

But minister Yu remained cautious. Kim’s remarks may have been aimed at new or transitional leaderships in China, Japan and South Korea, but Seoul had good historical reasons for treating peace overtures warily, he said. Efforts to engage Pyongyang with “good intentions” in the past had made little progress, Yu said. — AFP

Activist asks public to visit China Nobel wife BEIJING: Chinese activists urged the public yesterday to visit dissident Liu Xiaobo’s wife to highlight that she has been under house arrest since her husband won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.

Activist Hu Jia said Chinese citizens, human rights workers and foreign politicians should visit Liu Xia at her guarded Beijing apartment to help her regain freedom, a call reminiscent of the campaign to visit blind activist Chen Guangcheng in Shandong before his escape from house arrest last spring. “This should not be permitted to happen in a civilized society,” Hu said. “To rescue Liu Xia is to rescue the right of all citizens.”

A Hong Kong newspaper, Mingpao, published on its website a detailed graphic yesterday of the home’s location and its surveillance “to help readers to better understand her condition under house arrest.” The AP last month visited the apartment when guards apparently were on break, conducting Liu’s first interview in two years. Hu and other activists brushed past a guard to visit the home last week. Hu said he hopes the success would signal the start of more visits to Liu. “You can blame the country for her first year under house arrest and the guards for her second year.

But it will be the shame of all of us citizens if she should remain in her home prison for a third year,” Hu said.

Her husband is four years into an 11-year prison term for subversion for writing a manifesto calling for democracy. China’s authoritarian government strongly objected to his being named the peace prize laureate in 2010, and its detention of his wife has underlined the government’s determination to prevent her from becoming a spokeswoman for her detained spouse. Hu said Liu Xia - like Chen has been illegally deprived of personal freedom.

She also faces a lonely confinement, he said.

Before Chen fled from his rural home, dozens of ordinary Chinese responded to online calls to visit him in his village of Dongshigu, where he and his family were kept confined by police and thugs.

The visitors were detained, questioned and even beaten, but they brought renewed attention to Chen and his cause. Even Hollywood actor Christian Bale tried to visit, and it became international news when village thugs roughly turned Bale away. — AP

TOKYO: Japanese Emperor Akihito and his family receive New Year’s greetings from well-wishers at Imperial Palace yesterday. — AFP

Thai arrested over death of Briton at New Year party BANGKOK: Police in Thailand said yesterday they had arrested a Thai over the death of a British tourist shot during New Year celebrations at one of the Southeast Asian nation’s most popular islands. The 26-year-old suspect is alleged to have opened fire during an argument with a group of other Thai men at a bar on the southern resort of Koh Phangan, killing holidaymaker Stephen Ashton who was dancing on the beach. “He was charged with murder, even though he said he did not aim to kill a tourist. Firing the gun, no matter at whom, was aiming to kill,” said Surat Thani province police commander Kietpong Khaosa-ard.

The man, who was arrested late Tuesday near his home on the island,

was also charged with illegal possession of a weapon. Phangan is a resort island in the Gulf of Thailand near Koh Samui and draws thousands of backpackers to its famous full moon parties. The British Foreign Office announced Tuesday it was providing consular assistance to Ashton’s family, which said it was “completely devastated” by his death. “He has been taken away from us in such cruel and tragic circumstances in which he was an innocent bystander simply enjoying New Year celebrations,” the family said in a statement issued through the foreign office. “We cannot comprehend how someone can carry out such a reckless act, giving such little value to human life.” — AFP

NEWS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

Breaking taboos leads to tragedy in changing Oman MUSCAT: When unmarried 19-year-old Sama got pregnant, she ran away from home to have an abortion rather than face family wrath. The young man who got her pregnant had refused to marry her, saying he could not afford the financial burden. So she went to share a room with a friend in a university hostel in the Omani capital Muscat, 450 km away from her hometown of Buraimi in the north of the Gulf Arab state. The abortionist was her friend’s aunt, a 76-year-old woman who boasted that she had successfully terminated over 200 foetuses in a long, illegal career. The operation in April last year proved nearly fatal for Sama. “It was extremely painful and I nearly bled to death. I stayed in hospital for a week recovering from the botched procedure,” Sama, who requested that her family name not be used to protect her identity, told Reuters.

Oman, a conservative Muslim country, is grappling with the strains of modernisation. Two decades of fast economic growth, fuelled by oil exports, have raised living standards and increased people’s freedom of movement, giving men and women more day-to-day contact than they would have back in their tribal villages. At the same time, cultural attitudes have not shifted

nearly as much: pregnancy out of wedlock is widely regarded as a sin and young women can face severe beatings at the hands of their families. In addition, a family’s honour can be damaged by the disclosure of a pregnancy.

The result is that a substantial number of women feel they have to abort secretly rather than bring shame to their parents, social workers say. Doctors are told by the government to obtain the permission of a patient’s parents to conduct an abortion. “Young women, if the word gets out, will never find suitors after an unwanted pregnancy as the community brands them as prostitutes, because they had a relationship outside marriage,” said Fatma Al-Rahbi, a social worker at the Ministry of Social Development.

Women in all the conservative Gulf Arab states face similar social taboos and restrictions.

But Maryam Hashim, a women rights activist in Bahrain, said: “To put it in a regional perspective, Omani women issues are less open than any other Gulf countries. Young women there are much more controlled by parents. There are no mixed boy and girl parties or gatherings. Girls are told to hang around with other girls and not boys. So it is not a surprise that now Omani girls fully cap-

italize (on their time) at universities and colleges, where they develop secret relationships with boys that end with unwanted pregnancies.”

Official statistics are not available, but social workers say they believe the number of out-ofmarriage pregnancies, and therefore abortions, has been increasing as Omani society becomes more mobile. Doctors who talked to Reuters at seven different hospitals across the country said about three unmarried women were rushed to the hospitals every month for treatment after abortion attempts left them fighting for their lives. Last year, it was an average of two unmarried women every month who had aborted and were admitted to emergency wings. There are 26 government hospitals across Oman.

Some of these women don’t make it. “It is horrible the way they are brought in. One came in the back of a taxi and was left at the emergency entrance. The other was left on the roadside in broad daylight and was picked up by a passing car. They both bled profusely and died. I estimate that there are about 50 to 70 abortions carried out illegally every year, “ said Hassan Al Hajar, a doctor at Sur Hospital in the eastern region of Oman. He added that women being brought to

his hospital refused to name the illegal abortionists, often because they had some personal connection to them. The result was that no charges were brought against the people who performed the botched operations.

Saeeda Shamis, 37, a successful businesswoman who runs three beauty parlours in Muscat, married a Jordanian after she was disowned by her family for getting pregnant at the age of 18 with a boy next door. She had a successful abortion but was thrown out of her family home. “The word gets out very fast when you get pregnant. You find no Omani man wants to marry you, and that’s why I got married to a foreigner,” she said.

Some blame the spread of higher education for pregnancies out of marriage. The government is promoting education to help more of Oman’s roughly 2 million citizens find jobs and is encouraging the education of women as a way to reduce inequality between the sexes. The number of Omani students in tertiary education in the current academic year is up 9 percent since last year to 41,330, where female students make up 65 percent, according to the Ministry of Higher Education. — Reuters

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

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Issues

Leung faces divide after mass rally

By Beh Lih Yi

ong Kong’s beleaguered leader faces a huge task to bridge a widening political gap, analysts said Wednesday, after a mass rally pushing for his resignation and a swifter path to democracy under Chinese rule. Tens of thousands of people marched on New Year’s Day in two opposing demonstrations, heaping pressure on the city’s Beijing-backed chief executive Leung Chun-ying who is also embroiled in an embarrassing renovations scandal. Pro-democracy campaigners, some waving flags from the British colonial era, called for direct leadership elections, while a pro-government camp said Leung should be allowed to get on with his job of addressing a slowing economy and housing shortages.

Observers said the rare duelling rallies illustrate new divisions in the regional financial hub, where political discontent is increasing 15 years after Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule. They said Leung faces an urgent task to build trust and avoid the fate of his predecessor, Hong Kong’s first posthandover chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, who had to step down after half a million people marched against him in 2003.

While Hong Kong has long had a vocal prodemocracy contingent, which on Tuesday held up posters portraying Leung as a vampire and a wolf, a new group is emerging which believes the city should get back to business. “Increasingly we detect a sentiment that a lot of people think that there are too many quarrels,” said Joseph Cheng, a professor of politics at Hong Kong’s City University.

“You have resentment against this chaotic, disunited situation in the territory and it seems this group is getting bigger and bigger,” he told AFP. The protesters who took to the streets to demand Leung’s resignation accused him of lying in a row over illegal structures at his luxury home - a highly sensitive issue in the space-starved city.

Demonstrators have used the scandal to bolster their call for universal suffrage to choose the city’s leader, as Leung’s popularity ratings tumble ahead of an impeachment bid in the legislature next week.

The former British colony, which was returned to Beijing in 1997, maintains a semi-autonomous status with its own legal and financial system and guarantees of civil liberties, but it does not yet get to choose its leader by popular vote. Leung was elected to the post by a 1,200-strong committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites after his election rival Henry Tang was brought down by a row over unauthorised alterations at his own home. “Leung’s scandal and how he handled it meant a lot of people have low trust in him and it’s very difficult to recover that, although he is doing okay on the policy front,” Chinese University analyst Ma Ngok said.

Beijing has said the city’s leader could be directly elected in 2017 at the earliest, with the legislature following by 2020. Ma said Leung is likely to unveil populist measures such as cash handouts and welfare benefits in a Jan 16 annual policy address, to appease public sentiment. Leung has also attempted to tackle citizens’ gripes by introducing measures to boost housing affordability in one of the world’s most expensive property markets, and curbing the flood of mainland Chinese women coming to Hong Kong to give birth, which has strained medical resources.

The South China Morning Post said in an editorial that the “strong outpouring of discontent should not be taken lightly”. “The government should respond. Like it or not, the political reality is that Leung’s fate lies in the hands of Beijing rather than Hongkongers,” it said, adding that Leung is unlikely to step down as he still enjoys Beijing’s backing. “If that is the case, it is imperative for him to bridge the divide and lead us forward.” —AFP

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The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary.

In era of gridlock, Congress ‘created monster’

By Fred Barbash etting a looming deadline to avert selfcreated calamity has become a frequent device for the US Congress to get things done in recent years. When all else fails, as it often does, it’s supposed to frighten members into action. That was the idea when Congress created the “fiscal cliff” in August, 2011 to resolve a partisan struggle, also with a deadline and also self-created, over raising the federal debt ceiling.

Catastrophic budget cuts, timed to coincide with the threat of hefty income tax increases, would finally produce big cuts in the soaring federal budget by Dec. 31, 2012, or else.

It didn’t work. Congress scared everyone but Congress, which while cutting taxes for most and raising them for a few, made no pretense of trying to make any progress toward reducing the deficit. “We created a monster,” Democratic Representative Charles Rangel of New York said on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday night

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just before a House vote averted most of the effects of the fiscal cliff. “This fandango was an immense embarrassment,” American Enterprise Institute scholar Norm Ornstein said in an interview with Reuters, calling it “cringeworthy.”

And “the fact that we are going to have another disastrous confrontation over the debt limit in two months, with the radical right wing of the House Republicans determined to send us over the edge if they don’t get their way, is actually frightening”. “This House could have done worse, by rejecting the plan” to avoid the cliff, he said, “but it has done nothing to challenge its record as at minimum the worst Congress in our lifetimes.”

The next confrontation to which Ornstein referred is likely to start heating up in a matter of weeks in anticipation of the need to once again raise the borrowing limit for the government beyond the current level of about $16 trillion. The risk will be a default by the government. Republicans in Congress,

many of whom acknowledged publicly that they took a beating from President Barack Obama in the contest over the cliff, are promising to pursue spending cuts with extra vigor as a condition for approving the debt ceiling increase in the Republican-controlled House.

Historically, each partisan grudge match over spending has tended to make the next one even more bitter. Alice Rivlin, a former US budget director and Brookings Institution budget expert, also worries about “psychological fallout” from the battle over the cliff that could spill over into the debt ceiling struggle as well as contribute to the global perception that when it comes to the economy, the US can’t govern itself. “It’s very bad for the economy,” she said in an interview with Reuters, “and for our image in the world.

We don’t look like a country in charge of its own destiny. That’s hard to quantify but it’s bad.”

“This is a Congress that can barely get its work done - especially when confronting the

most important issues of the day,” said Sarah Binder, a George Washington University expert on Congress. “In many ways, public disgust with Congress is already baked in: the public’s expectations are so low that it’s hard for Congress to surprise us,” she said in an interview with Reuters.

That wasn’t the way Minority Leader Mitch McConnell - the chief architect of the cliff - expressed it on Aug 1, 2011 as he spoke on the Senate floor. “It might have appeared to some as though their government wasn’t working,” he said, “but in fact the opposite was true. The push and pull Americans saw in Washington these past few weeks was not gridlock, it was the will of the people working itself out in a political system that was never meant to be pretty.”

Republican Representative David Dreier of California expressed a similar sentiment Monday night as the House closed the loop on the plan McConnell designed. “This is the greatest deliberative body known to man,” he said. —Reuters

Young, urban Indians find political voice

By Nita Bhalla and Satarupa Bhattacharjya hen Preeti Joshi heard of the gang rape of a fellow student, she joined a movement of thousands of outraged young Indians who have taken to the streets of New Delhi almost every day protesting for justice and security for women. Beaten and raped by five men and a teenager on a moving bus in the capital on Dec 16, the 23-year-old student died from her injuries on Saturday, her plight shaking the conscience of many urban middle class Indians who consider gender rights as important as poverty alleviation.

India’s politicians, seen as out of touch with the aspirations of the urban middle class, have been caught off guard by the protests. For the first time, they head into national elections due by May 2014 with women’s rights as an issue. Even so, the issue is unlikely to be the defining one. Massive rural vote banks have been untouched by demands for gender equality and the fury across India’s cities may fade, just as unprecedented protests in New Delhi over corruption did 16 months ago.

“Rural populations in this country are more concerned about basics such as development,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research, a Delhi-based gender rights think-tank. This jars with what urban protesters like Joshi want. “I thought we lived in the world’s biggest democracy where our voices counted and meant something. Politicians need to see that we need more than bijli, sadak, paani (power, roads, water),” said Joshi, 21, a student of social sciences at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Sexual violence against women in largely patriarchal India is widespread, say gender rights activists, and crimes such as rape, dowry murders, acid attacks, honour killings, child marriages and human trafficking are common. But the savagery of this crime - where the victim was

W

raped for an hour and tortured with an iron rod which did serious damage to her internal organs - has stirred national debate and put gender issues on the political agenda.

The victim’s name has not been released. Her alleged attackers have been detained in connection with the crime and police are likely to press murder charges this week.

Prosecutors are expected to seek a death sentence for the adults.

“The girl’s assault and death were the lancing of wounds that have festered for years. Women had shut up for fear of social pressures but now there’s a collective voice to demand change,” says Renuka Chowdhury, a parliamentarian and spokeswoman for the main ruling Congress Party and former minister for women and child development. “This is for the first time, perhaps, that politicians are seeing women as a constituency.

People will slowly learn to accept that a woman’s vote will matter in times to come.”

The government’s initial

response to the attack drew criticism. It angered protesters by trying to throttle the largely peaceful demonstrations by imposing emergency policing laws, barricading roads and closing down underground train stations. And it was a week before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a statement, in which he appealed for calm and promised to create a safer environment for women. “We will examine without delay not only the responses to this terrible crime but also all aspects concerning the safety of women and children and punishment to those who commit these monstrous crimes,” Singh said in a rare televised address to the nation on Dec 24.

One senior government official who did not want to be identified said Singh had been waiting for the home minister and the Delhi authorities to deal with the issue first. Many protesters have also expressed disappointment at the low profile of younger politicians such as Rahul

Gandhi, seen as the Congress Party’s prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 elections and who could have helped bridge the gap between the demonstrators and the political establishment. His first comment, extending sympathy to the victim’s family and urging respect for women, came after the student had died.

Analysts said the slow and bumbling response from the elite illustrated how India’s politicians are out of touch with the demands of the country’s urban youth. “Whatever the trigger, one thing is absolutely clear: India’s political class has been left bewildered by the street protests involving large numbers of mostly apolitical and leaderless individuals,” wrote political pundit Swapan Dasgupta in the Times of India on Sunday.

But gender rights are unlikely to make a significant dent in India’s elections. Similar street protests in August 2011 over corruption fizzled due to the inability of organisers to

Indian protesters shout anti-government slogans during a protest against rape in New Delhi yesterday. —AFP

maintain public pressure and keep the media interested. Despite gender sensitive laws being in place for decades, including those outlawing practices such as dowries and child marriage, they have been poorly implemented largely due to a lack of political will, activists say.

Many of India’s legislators are elderly men who rely on the support of the rural masses, where deep-rooted patriarchal attitudes mean blame is often first assigned to the victims of sex attacks. One of the most powerful female figures in Indian history is former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Her daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi, mother of Rahul, heads the Congress Party and there are also more than one million female politicians in village councils. Yet only 11 percent of seats in India’s lower and upper houses of parliament are held by women, ranking it 110th out of 145 countries, below less developed nations such as Niger and Pakistan, says the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a Geneva-based union of national parliaments.

For almost 18 years, moves to give women greater power at the national and state level through the Women’s Reservation Bill, which would guarantee 33 percent of seats to women at those levels, have been blocked by male legislators. “Political parties give tickets for fighting elections on the basis of electoral calculations. How many women are there in Indian politics who can get elected time after time? Very few, right?” said Nirmala Sitharaman, spokeswoman for the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Gender rights activists also point out that political parties have allowed male legislators who themselves face rape charges and other crimes against women to represent them.

Six serving state legislators have been charged with rape, while 36 others including two national parliamentarians have faced charges of sexual harassment, molestation or assault on a woman before holding an assembly seat, according to the Association for Democratic Reforms, a Delhi-based think-tank. —Reuters

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

sp orts Contract talks with Real not important: Ronaldo

Vilanova visits Barca squad MADRID: Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has visited the first-team squad at training for the first time since his throat operation last month. “Vilanova, who is recuperating from the operation he underwent on Dec. 20, came to the training ground and greeted the players who were working out there this morning,” La Liga leaders Barca told their website (www.fcbarcelona.es) on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old needed a second round of surgery following an operation to remove a tumour from his saliva glands in November 2011. Assistant coach Jordi Roura has stepped in until he is well enough to return to work.

Some of the Barca players are playing for Catalonia in a friendly against Nigeria later on Wednesday and the club said goalkeeper Victor Valdes had pulled out of the match because of a foot problem.

Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Martin Montoya, Jordi Alba, Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Cristian Tello, Marc Bartra and Sergi Roberto will join up with the Catalonia squad later in the day. Vilanova was released from hospital on Dec. 22 and began a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Club president Sandro Rosell said on Friday he should be back midway through January and would alternate work with his treatment. Vilanova was sidelined for around three weeks in 2011 before returning to his job as assistant to Pep Guardiola and then taking over from his close friend at the end of last season. Under his stewardship Barca have made a record-breaking unbeaten start to the league campaign and have a ninepoint lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid.

Their opening match of 2013 is at home to city rivals Espanyol on Sunday. —Reuters

MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo is to avoid public discussions of a possible contract renewal with Real Madrid and plans to focus instead on winning matches, he said yesterday.

“The issue has already been talked about,” the Portugal forward told a news conference when asked about his contract situation after training. “I won’t talk about my renewal anymore,” added the 27-year-old whose deal with La Liga champions Real runs until June 2015. “It’s not the most important thing, the important thing is to win out next games.

“We are fighting for La Liga, the King’s Cup and the Champions League — the important thing is to be united. I am feeling very comfortable at the club and I hope to give the best of me for this shirt as I always have done.”

Ronaldo, the world’s most expensive player, raised eyebrows earlier this season when he said he was feeling sad “for professional reasons” and that Real officials knew why. He did not explain further, leading to media speculation he was unhappy with the terms of his deal and wanted more money. Some reports have suggested Ronaldo might be lured to a bigspending club like Paris St Germain or that he may return to Manchester United who sold him to Real for a record fee of 94 million euros ($124 million) in 2009.

Real play United in the last 16 of the Champions League, with the first leg in Madrid on Feb. 13 and the return in Manchester on March 5. “I have feelings of strong friendship, a lot of warmth,” Ronaldo said of the tie. “It’s a team that had a big influence on my career. —Reuters

Misconduct charges dropped SYDNEY: Misconduct charges against veteran Australian fast bowler Brett Lee for criticising administrators have been withdrawn and a compromise agreed, cricket officials said yesterday.

Cricket New South Wales (NSW) reported Lee to Cricket Australia for alleged code of conduct breaches after he claimed that dumped NSW coach Anthony Stuart had been made the scapegoat for failings of the state’s cricket hierarchy.

The former Test quick, who still plays in the domestic Big Bash League, said in an interview that NSW had “seriously dropped the ball” and Cricket NSW chief David Gilbert “should have been made to go” instead of Stuart.

Lee attended a disciplinary hearing of governing body Cricket Australia in Sydney over the comments on Wednesday, where charges of unbecoming behaviour and detrimental public comment were dropped and a compromise brokered.

Instead of being disciplined, Lee was invited to address a new committee established to address his concerns about the future of cricket in NSW. “Both parties are very pleased to have found a way forward and at having arrived at a very positive mutual outcome,” Cricket NSW said in a statement.

“Brett Lee looks forward very much to working constructively with Cricket New South Wales into the future.” —AFP

US routs Czechs 7-0 Junior ice hockey quarters

Felix Neureuther in action in this file photo

Felix, Zuzulova stun favorites in Munich MUNICH: Felix Neureuther and Veronika Velez Zuzulova upset the World Cup favourites when they won the men’s and women’s city events respectively on Tuesday.

German Neureuther, a specialist of sorts after finishing second in a similar event in Moscow a year ago, used the support of 15,000 fans in Munich’s Olympic Park to upstage Austrian World Cup holder Marcel Hirscher in the final of the parallel slalom competition.

Hirscher still grabbed 80 precious points in the overall standings to close the gap on Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, who was knocked out in the first round of the event that involved the 12 best slalom specialists and the four best all-rounders.

“The crowd was going crazy. It was such a big motivation for today. I’d beaten Marcel

once before this season. I knew I could do it. I just had to take every risk,” said Neureuther after his third World Cup victory. France’s Alexis Pinturault, winner in Moscow a year ago, was third this time.

In the women’s competition, Slovakian Velez Zuzulova made the best of her current form to beat World Cup leader Tina Maze in the final. Winner of her country’s first World Cup race in the Austrian resort of Semmering on Saturday, Velez Suzulova made it two in a row thanks to two blistering runs against Slovenia’s Maze.

“It took me eleven years to win my first race and now I made two in three days,” she said. “I was hoping that the other girls partied a lot last night and would be tired today,” she added. Austria’s Michaela Kirchgasser was third. —Reuters

Kuwaiti jet skiers to participate in UAE KUWAIT: Kuwaiti jet skiers are to take part in the first round of UAE Jet-Ski Championship for the year 2013, to be held in Dubai next Saturday. Abdullah AlHumaidi and Abdullah Al-Fadil told KUNA before heading to Dubai and expressed their readiness for this tournament, despite technical delay in their jet skies’ maintenance, considering their recent participation in Thailand Jet Ski King’s Cup World Championship.

Al-Humaidi said that they will work hard to achieve as much points as possible in UAE championship consisting of six rounds, three in Dubai, and other three in Abu Dhabi. Al-Humaidi will participate in the super stock category in the UAE championship while Al-Fadil will take part in the senior professional category. A total of 50 participants from various countries are expected to take part in the event. —KUNA

GERMANY: Germany’s ski jumper Martin Schmitt soars through the air during the first competition jump of the 61st edition of the Four-HillsTournament (Vierschanzentournee). Anders Jacobsen won the competition, Austria’s ski jumper Gregor Schlierenzauer placed second and Norway’s Anders Bardal placed third. —AFP

UFA: John Gaudreau scored a hat trick and Riley Barber added two more yesterday to put the United States into the semifinals of the world junior ice hockey championship with a 7-0 win over the Czech Republic.

The Americans will next face Canada at Ufa Arena on Thursday.

Defending champion Sweden will face either Russia or Switzerland in the other semifinal game.

Gaudreau scored the lone goal of the first period when the Czechs were two men down at 11:45, and doubled the lead on a power play 28 seconds into the second period. Ryan Hartman made it 3-0 with a shot from the left circle 40 seconds later, and the Czechs substituted goalie Patrik Bartosak for Matej Machovsky.

Barber scored into an empty net on a power play at 28:44 and beat Machovsky in a one-on-one less than four minutes later.

Gaudreau, unmarked at the right, had his third goal on a power play at 39:47. JT Miller capped the scoring with a slap shot from the blue line, capitalizing on a two-man advantage early in the third period. John Gibson made 31 saves for the victory. “We played the game we needed to play tonight.

You haven’t seen our best hockey,” United States captain Jake McCabe said. “The team that wins the tournament is the team that gets better every game. You have to improve every game.

Playing Canada is going to be emotional again. We’re going to be ready for it.”

Canada edged the United States 2-1 in the preliminary round.

In the relegation round yesterday, Finland beat Germany 8-0 with Ville Pokka and Aleksander Barkov scoring two goals each. —AP

John Gaudreau

Regular-season winners don’t always make champs DENVER: The Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, who tied for the NFL’s best record at 13-3, are well aware of one of the league’s biggest truisms: More often than not, the regular season means little in the playoffs.

Over the last decade, just two of the 13 teams that had the best regular-season record - or tied for the best mark - went on to win the Super Bowl: The ‘02 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the ‘03 New England Patriots.

The last eight teams to enter the playoffs with the best record bowed out before they could put their fingerprints on the Lombardi Trophy and revel in a rain of confetti.

Both the Broncos and Falcons are promising to practice like champions this week and not allow rest and relaxation during their first-round bye to turn into rust and ruin.

In the last seven seasons, three No. 6 seeds and a No. 4 seed ended up winning it all, giving hope to the likes of the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings in this year’s playoff pool.

A year ago, the Green Bay Packers rested their regulars in the season finale and they lost their edge, becoming the first 15-1 team to lose its first playoff game - to a New York Giants team that was 7-7 in midDecember and went on to win it all.

“That’s kind of what it was for us when I

was in Indy,” Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley said of the ‘05 Colts, who went 14-2 but lost to Pittsburgh in the divisional round. “We kind of rested the last week, then we had a bye. It’s too much. So, I like just grinding every week, just playing football.” That’s exactly what Peyton Manning’s new Broncos team did, securing the AFC’s top seed on Sunday with its 11th straight win.

Along with the Falcons, Patriots and San Francisco 49ers, the Broncos get a break this week, one that can prove a pitfall as much as a profit. “We’ve just got to practice like we’re playing this week,” Denver receiver Eric Decker said.

While the Broncos stormed into the playoffs, the Falcons, who already had the NFC’s top seed secured, didn’t gain any momentum by losing to Tampa Bay on Sunday.

“Before this game was played, we were the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, at the end of the game, nothing has changed,” Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez reasoned. “We’re a very good team; we’ll just use this as a wake-up call.” Says another Atlanta veteran, Asante Samuel: “We’re going to practice like champs. And we’re going to play like champs from now on.”

So will the Broncos. Coach John Fox is using the bye week to stay sharp, calling for short, crisp practices on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and a mandatory

weightlifting session on Saturday, mainly to keep the team “focused, not concerned with flights to other states and those type of things, especially close states.” Like Nevada, where bookies have made the Broncos the favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Since the first Super Bowl, the team with the best regular-season record has won just 21 of 46 championships, or 46 percent, which is more than in the NHL (42 percent), NBA (41 percent) and Major League Baseball (28 percent), according to STATS, LLC. “Everyone wants to have the best record, win the division and play at home for the playoffs, but in my opinion, the team that is playing the best has the best opportunity,” said NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner, a former MVP and Super Bowl champion. “This game is always about confidence and momentum. If you have it, you’re tough to beat, nobody wants to play you and it gives you a distinct advantage. It starts in the regular season and you want to be playing well down the stretch.”

Fox says there are a lot of formulas to winning the championship. “If you look at history, there are plenty of different scenarios,” he said. “At the end of the day, you want to be playing your best football in January so you can get to February. That’s really the only formula I know that’s 100 percent.” —AP

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

S P ORT S

Badgers make best of a bad situation

NEW YORK: Loyalty being what it is these days in college football, you didn’t know whether to be happy or sad to see Barry Alvarez back on the Wisconsin sideline seven years after he left coaching to become the Badgers’ athletic director.

Wisconsin was one of two schools playing Tuesday - Northern Illinois was the other - whose head coach bailed out on the team between the end of the regular season and a bowl game. That’s becoming such a regular occurrence, even when bigtime BCS bowls like the Rose and Orange are involved, that it hardly qualifies as news. At least a half-dozen other teams found themselves in the same position during the current bowl season, and five more had to make do without one of their coordinators in the fold, which can be every bit as disruptive.

We even have a repeat offender this time around: Butch Jones, who left Cincinnati on Dec. 7 - a day after promising the athletic director he would return - to take the head-coaching job at Tennessee.

He did the same thing to Central Michigan

two years ago, and in both cases left the bowl mop-up work to assistant Steve Stripling, who followed Jones to Cincinnati and is already set to join his new staff at Tennessee. Nobody gets mad at shenanigans like that anymore, especially when the coach, like Jones, is an up-and-comer.

There’s too much money at stake now for either side to take it personally.

Even so, a few things made the SwapO-Rama at Wisconsin more interesting than most. First off, running a Big 10 program used to be viewed as a destination job, but when Bret Bielema traded the Badgers for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Southeastern Conference, it reinforced the perception that for any coach with serious championship ambitions, the SEC is the only place to be. Second, even though six of Bielema’s assistants have already lined up jobs elsewhere next season, they all decided to work the Rose Bowl alongside Alvarez, which only seemed fair considering how well he treated every one of them in the past. And then there was Alvarez himself.

The Wisconsin seniors essentially “drafted” him after Bielema ditched them, and sweet as it was that he agreed to come out of retirement for this one game, his motives weren’t entirely charitable. Alvarez makes $1 million a year as AD, and his deal includes a $118,000 bonus for coaching in the Rose and $50,000 more for winning it.

Even though Wisconsin lost 20-14, most still looked at the temporary measure as money well spent. “I think it served as a unifying factor,” junior linebacker Chris Borland said. “Not that this team would ever experience any dissension, we’ve got a bunch of character guys. But to have Coach Alvarez come back ... I think it calmed guys’ nerves. Initially, I think there was a little anxiety about the situation, at least from the younger guys, and to have Coach Alvarez step back and come back and coach, it brought everybody together.”

For his part, Alvarez said the seven years watching games from a booth upstairs hadn’t dulled his competitive instincts, even though the loss snapped his personal 3-0 Rose Bowl streak. An inter-

ception by Stanford’s Usua Amanam as Wisconsin was driving late also ensured the Badgers a third consecutive heartbreaking loss in Pasadena.

“You know what? Every game we had out here was very competitive,” he said.

“We were fortunate to come out on top in my (previous) games. This game, the only thing that’s different than the other teams that I coached is somehow we found a way to win, and we weren’t fortunate enough to get a win today.”

Considering the way the regular season went in Madison, though, you could argue Wisconsin was playing the Rose Bowl with house money. The Badgers nearly lost star running back Montee Ball after he was attacked in August and suffered a concussion, only one reason they had trouble scoring points. They lost three games in overtime and two others by a total of three points, then wound up with the conference’s Rose Bowl slot because the two teams ahead of them - Ohio State and Penn State - were ineligible for postseason play.

As an added bonus, Gary Andersen, the former Utah State coach Alvarez hired to replace Bielema, had the chance to watch the bowl practices with some of his incoming staff and was on the sideline Tuesday night to observe the players he’ll inherit go through the ringer in a big game.

“The advantages are they had a chance to evaluate the players and have an idea in their minds when they get here, what they have and what they have to recruit, the strengths and weaknesses of the team,” Alvarez said. “As I told the team, we have a very good nucleus coming back next year, a lot of juniors, and they have a chance to be an outstanding squad again next year.”

By then, Alvarez, who turned 66 a few days ago, will be back in his office and probably glad of it. So credit him with making the best of a bad situation. But if you watched Alvarez come out of the tunnel at the start of the game, taking two quick steps before veering sharply left to get out of the way of his onrushing players, you know he hardly needed reminding that coaching is a young man’s game. —AP

Murray’s five TDs lift Georgia over Nebraska ORLANDO: Aaron Murray threw five touchdown passes to set a Georgia bowl record, including two in the fourth quarter, and the sixth-ranked Bulldogs beat No. 23 Nebraska 45-31 in the Capital One Bowl on Tuesday.

Murray’s most valuable player

the Outback Bowl, No.21 Northwestern downed Mississippi State 34-20 in the Gator Bowl to end college football’s longest postseason losing streak and Oklahoma State thrashed Purdue 58-14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl to shake off a disappointing Big 12 finish.

Taylor Martinez had two interceptions and two touchdown passes for the Cornhuskers and Rex Burkhead rushed for 140 yards in his final college game.

Nebraska’s offense finished with 443 total yards, but the Bulldogs defense was stingy

PASADENA: Stanford wide receiver Jamal-Rashad Patterson (left) makes a catch against Wisconsin defensive back Shelton Johnson (24) during the first half of the Rose Bowl NCAA college football game. —AP

ORLANDO: Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree (9) sacks Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez (3) on a fourth and nine play late in the fourth quarter of the Capital One Bowl NCAA college football game. —AP performance saw him shake off a pair of first-half interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and passed for 427 yards - also a Bulldogs bowl record - against the nation’s topranked passing defense.

In other bowl games on New Year’s Day, No.11 South Carolina edged out No.19 Michigan 33-28 in

Also Tuesday, No. 8 Stanford’s dominant defense shut out Wisconsin in the second half of a 20-14 victory in the 99th Rose Bowl and No.13 Florida State stifled No.16 Northern Illinois to win the Orange Bowl 31-10.

Nebraska led 24-23 at the half, but committed two of their three turnovers in the final 30 minutes.

when it needed to be. They sacked Martinez five times, with All-American linebacker Jarvis Jones notching two.

In Pasadena, California, Stepfan Taylor rushed for 89 yards and an early touchdown, Kevin Hogan passed for 123 yards and Usua Amanam made the decisive interception near midfield with 2:30 to

play as the Pac-12 champion Cardinals won their first Rose Bowl since 1972.

Stanford clamped down on the Big Ten champion Badgers (86), who lost the Rose Bowl in heartbreaking fashion for the third consecutive season. Montee Ball rushed for 100 yards and his FBS-record 83rd touchdown, but Wisconsin managed only 82 yards after halftime.

In the Orange Bowl, senior fullback Lonnie Pryor, voted the game’s outstanding player, ran for a career-high 134 yards and two scores in only five carries for Florida State. Senior EJ Manuel threw for 291 yards.

The victory was a consolation prize for the Seminoles, who began the season with national championship hopes. They’ve won five consecutive bowl games, but the victory was their first in a BCS bowl since 2000, when they beat Virginia Tech for the national championship.

In Tampa, Florida, Dylan Thompson came off the bench to throw a 32-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds left Tuesday, enabling South Carolina to tie a school record for victories and claim the Outback Bowl over Michigan.

Thompson replaced Connor Shaw during the winning drive, covering the final 43 yards after Shaw began the march from his own 30. Devin Gardner’s third TD pass of the game had given Michigan a 28-27 lead.

Shaw threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns after missing South Carolina’s regular season finale with a left foot sprain.

Thompson led the Gamecocks to a victory over their archrival, and threw for 117 yards and two TDs. In the Gator Bowl, the Wildcats earned their first bowl win since 1949, ending a ninegame losing streak that was tied for the longest in NCAA history.

Quentin Williams returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown on the third play of the game and Nick Vanhoose set up a late touchdown with a 39-yard interception return. Those plays were the difference in a backand-forth game that featured more interceptions (seven) than touchdowns (six).

Scrambler Kain Colter ran for 71 yards, making up for his two interceptions. Backup Trevor Siemian threw for 120 yards and an interception, and also ran for a score as Northwestern’s twoquarterback system kept the Bulldogs off balance most of the day.

In the Heart of Dallas Bowl, Clint Chelf threw three of Oklahoma State’s five touchdown passes and the Cowboys shook off a disappointing campaign at Purdue’s expense.

Leading 28-0 at halftime, Oklahoma State erased any lingering doubt three plays into the second half when Justin Gilbert stripped Purdue receiver O.J. Ross on a short completion. The loose ball shot straight to Daytawion Lowe, who ran 37 yards down the sideline in front of the Purdue bench for a 35-0 lead. —AP

Robert Griffin III

NFL playoffs offer clash of generations NEW YORK: With Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson set to make playoff debuts, the year of the rookie continues in the National Football League (NFL). But defense and experience win championships and few know the road to the Super Bowl better than longtime quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

The wild-card weekend kicks off on Saturday with the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Houston Texans, followed

by NFC North rivals the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings renewing hostilities on Lambeau Field’s famous frozen tundra.

Sunday’s games will be a rookie quarterback showcase. Luck, the number one overall pick in last year’s draft, will lead the resurgent Indianapolis Colts against the Baltimore Ravens, with Griffin, selected number two by the Washington Redskins, going against the Seattle Seahawks and their brilliant first-year quarterback Wilson.

More intriguing, however, is the possibility of a clash of the generations in the divisional playoffs the following weekend when Manning and the AFC top seeded Denver Broncos join the action along with Brady and the number two seeded New England Patriots. In the NFC, the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons and number two San Francisco 49ers await their conference’s wild-card winners.

While NFL fans have been mesmerized by the dynamic talents of Griffin, Luck and Wilson, the old guard of Brady, Manning and the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers have trophy cases that contain Super Bowl rings and most valuable player awards.

Rodgers and Manning finished the regular season with the top two quarterback ratings, generating plenty of MVP buzz. They were followed by Griffin and Wilson. Luck completed his first campaign by grabbing the singleseason rookie passing yards record as the Colts went from last place to the playoffs in one year.

Wilson tied Manning’s single-season rookie record with 26 touchdown passes, leading an explosive Seattle offence that became to first in 62 years to register back-to-back 50 point games.

While the spotlight will be focused on the trio of rookies, the pressure will be on two other quarterbacks. The

apprenticeship and honeymoon is over for Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, the third overall pick in the 2008 draft, and the Ravens’ Joe Flacco, taken 18th overall in that same draft class. The two must prove they are finally ready to deliver a championship.

Texans veteran play caller Matt Schaub will also be under the microscope while San Francisco’s second year man Colin Kaepernick maybe the one true wild card, after taking over first string duties mid-season from Alex Smith.

In Minnesota, the Vikings’ offense does not revolve so much around quarterback Christian Ponder as bruising running back Adrian Peterson, who rushed for a staggering 2,097 yards, falling just nine yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s single-season record.

The wild-card weekend will also feature the NFL’s top three rushers with Peterson, Redskins’ powerhouse rookie Alfred Morris (1,613 yards) who averaged over 100 yards a game and the Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch (1,590).

Along with Lynch and quarterback Wilson, the Seahawks enter the postseason with the league’s top ranked defense, allowing just 15.3 points a game. They are followed closely by their West division rivals the 49ers.

With six wins in their last seven games, including five straight to close out the campaign, the NFC Seahawks carry considerable momentum, but no team is hotter than the AFC Broncos, who have reeled off 11 consecutive wins.

The Seahawks were the NFL’s best home team, winning all eight home dates, but must do something they have not done since 1983 - win a playoff game on the road.

Atlanta, the NFC’s number one seed, went 7-1 at home and will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs while second seeded San Francisco was nearly as dominant, going 6-1-1 on its own turf.

“It’s about consistency when you get into this opportunity,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said on the team’s website.

“You’ve got to bring what you’ve got.

Don’t show up without your stuff on that day. “We know how to do that.

Now we have to see if we can bring it to life and not get distracted by the fact it’s the playoffs.”—Reuters

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

sp orts

South Africa dominate after N Zealand crash Jayawardene hoping for improved send off SYDNEY: Mahela Jayawardene will start his final match as Sri Lanka cricket captain in the third Test against Australia today asking his players for a dramatic improvement if they are to avoid a series whitewash.

Jayawardene, who will relinquish the leadership after the Sydney test, said on Wednesday that the Sri Lankans have let themselves down on a tour that has so far included a labored 137-run loss in Hobart and a dismal defeat by an innings and 201 runs in Melbourne.

The 35-year-old Jayawardene has had less than a week to lift a side that mustered just two scores over 300 across two innings at the MCG, and faces a firing Australia attack bolstered by the return of the rested Mitchell Starc and the rejuvenated Mitchell Johnson.

Jayawardene said it was up to the dwindling cadre of experienced players in the squad to coax a more focused performance from the side.

“It is a bit hard but it is about individuals taking responsibility and knowing what they need to do,” Jayawardene said.

“If you sit down and look at what we’ve achieved in this series, it’s not that hard to say ‘no, we haven’t done enough.’ We need to really stand up and be counted.

“It has to come from within themselves but as a senior group, we just need to talk to them about simple things and execute simple game plans and try to stay in the game.”

Keeping the game alive into a fourth and fifth day is absolutely crucial to Sri Lanka, with the combination of a deteriorating pitch and spinner Rangana Herath representing the tourists’ most realistic shot at a first win in 13 attempts on Australian soil.

A lack of genuine pace and, in Hobart, some overly conservative field settings meant Australia’s batsmen needed only patience rather than adrenaline to rack up their runs.

“I haven’t really had a chance to look at the wicket yet but the best way we can try to win a test match is to create a situation for Rangana on a slow-turner,” Jayawardene said. “We just have to make sure that until the fourth or fifth day we execute a good game plan and we stay in the game.” Sri Lanka hung on until the final session in Hobart thanks to the combined efforts of Kumar Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews, but Sangakkara - Sri Lanka’s best batsman and the only tourist to pass 50 in Melbourne - is out this time with a hand injury.

Joining Sangakkara on the sidelines are seamer Chanaka Welegedara with a

hamstring problem and wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene, who failed a late fitness test on Wednesday on the fractured thumb that prevented him batting in the second innings at the MCG. Dinesh Chandimal will replace Sangakkara and Nuwan Pradeep is likely to replace Welegedara. Lahiru Thirimanne could also come into the side, with Chandimal keeping wicket.

Adding to the visitors’ woes is the fitness of pace bowler Shaminda Eranga, who suffered a freak ankle injury while taking part in a friendly game of football in the squad’s final training session and is unlikely to play.

A replacement for Eranga, if needed, could be in the form of offspinner Suraj Randiv or paceman Suranga Lakmal, both only arriving in Australia this week. But Sri Lanka’s biggest problem for its first ever test at the SCG could be a home side that is finding some real form.

Australia captain Michael Clarke has seemed untroubled by the absence of injured allrounder Shane Watson, with Johnson having hit an unbeaten 92 in Melbourne to go with match figures of 679 on his return to the side.

“His time away from the game freshened his body and also freshened his mind,” Clarke said. “He knows now in this group he is a senior player and he has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.

“He needs to perform like a senior player, like he has done since coming back into the team.” Johnson will bat at No. 7, allowing Starc to return after being rested in Melbourne. Peter Siddle and Jackson Bird round out a four-man pace attack, with spinner Nathan Lyon the other option.

Clarke will move up to No. 4, with Mike Hussey bumped up a spot to No.5 in his final Test before retiring. “Since I’ve been playing cricket for Australia, it’s been a contributing factor to our success that when guys retire it’s extra special to get a win in that last game for them,” Clarke said. “I’m certain this test match will be no different in regard to Michael Hussey.”

The match is the first at the SCG for Clarke since January last year, when he hit a towering 329 not out against India that set him on his way to an Australian record 1,595 test runs for a calendar year.

“That was a very special day and probably for the first time in 12 months I thought about it yesterday when I walked back into the ground,” Clarke said.

“I’ve always loved playing here and I’ve always wanted to score runs here in front of my family and friends. “But that was last year. It’s a new Test match and I start on zero.” — AP

SYDNEY: Sri Lankan Test cricketer Dinesh Chandimal trains at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the eve of the third cricket Test between Sri Lanka and Australia. — AFP

CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s Alviro Petersen blocks the ball from New Zealand’s Jeetan Patel during day one of the first Test match between South Africa and New Zealand. — AFP CAPE TOWN: South Africa were in a dominant position after New Zealand crashed to 45 all out on the first day of the first Test at Newlands yesterday. Vernon Philander took the first five wickets as New Zealand were bowled out before lunch after winning the toss and batting on a well-grassed pitch.

That the pitch contained no real demons was shown as South Africa reached 252 for three, a lead of 207, by the close, with Alviro Petersen making 103 not out. Hashim Amla made 66 and Jacques Kallis became the fourth man to make 13 000 Test runs on his way to scoring 60.

South Africa needed only 12 overs to take a first innings lead after a sensational performance by their bowlers, led by Vernon Philander, who took the first five wickets in the space of 20 balls.

Philander had figures of five for seven from six overs. Morne Morkel took three for 14 and Dale Steyn two for 18. New Zealand’s total was the third lowest in their history and the joint 12th lowest in Test cricket.

Steyn captured his 300th Test wicket when he bowled Bracewell but his achievement was overshadowed by Philander, who claimed his eighth five-wicket haul in his 13th Test match.

Although the pitch gave some help to the fast bowlers, South Africa’s free-scoring reply showed there was nothing untowards in the surface. Captain Graeme Smith was leg before wicket to Doug Bracewell for one to become the eleventh man dismissed before lunch, but Hashim Amla and Alviro Petersen shared a second wicket stand of 107.

Amla hurried to a half-century off 55 balls before he walked across his stumps and was leg before wicket to James Franklin for 66.

Kallis then helped Petersen add 104 for the third wicket. It was his ninth half-century at his home town ground to go along with nine centuries. He looked in total control before edging a drive at a ball from left-armed fast bowler Trent Boult.

When he went past 20 Kallis joined Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid in scoring 13 000 runs in Tests. New Zealand contributed substantially to their collapse with uncertain foot movement against Philander, who stuck to his tried and tested method of bowling in a tight channel at a lively pace, making the ball deviate in either direction.

It was also the lowest total at Newlands in more than a century, two runs worse than the 47 all out by Australia at the start of last season. South Africa were dismissed for 35 and 43 in two matches against England in 1898/99 and 1888/89 in their early forays into Test cricket.

The lowest total by New Zealand - and the world record low - was 26 against England in 1954/55. They were all out for 42 against Australia in Wellington in 1945/46.

Brendon McCullum, New Zealand’s new captain, had to do without Peter Fulton on an injury list including Daniel Vettori and Tim Southee. McCullum opened the batting with Martin Guptill.

Smith indicated he would also have batted had he won the toss but noted there was some moisture in the pitch and that there might be some early life for the fast bowlers.

In the circumstances it was crucial that New Zealand made a solid start through McCullum, Guptill and Kane Williamson, their top three batsmen, with a largely unproven line-up to follow.

Instead the tourists were quickly in trouble

when Guptill sparred at a lifting delivery from Philander to be caught behind off the last ball of the second over. McCullum had his middle stump knocked by a ball which snaked in in Philander’s third over and Dean Brownlie lasted only three balls before edging Philander to Smith at first slip.

Williamson showed some defiance as he made 13 before he was Philander’s fourth victim, trapped leg before wicket. Given out by umpire Rod Tucker, Williamson asked for a television review but replays showed the ball clipping the top of his bails.

Williamson was out to the last ball of Philander’s fourth over and the bowler was on a hat-trick when he had BJ Watling caught behind off the first ball of his fifth over.

Franklin survived the hat-trick delivery but was caught at first slip by Smith in the next over, bowled by Morkel, who shared the remaining wickets with Steyn. Petersen was content to play a supporting role to both Amla and Kallis as South Africa forged ahead. He reached his fifth Test century shortly before the close after facing 170 balls and hitting 11 fours and a six. — AFP

SCOREBOARD CAPE TOWN: Scoreboard at close on the first day of the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand at Newlands yesterday: New Zealand, first innings South Africa, first innings M. Guptill c De Villiers b Philander 1 G. Smith lbw b Bracewell 1 B. McCullum b Philander 7 A. Petersen not out 103 K. Williamson lbw b Philander 13 H. Amla lbw b Franklin 66 D. Brownlie c Smith b Philander 0 J. Kallis c Watling b Boult 60 D. Flynn c and b Steyn 8 A. de Villiers not out 19 B. Watling c De Villiers b Philander 0 Extras (b1, lb1, nb1) 3 J. Franklin c Smith b Morkel 1 Total (3 wkts, 64 overs) 252 D. Bracewell b Steyn 2 Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Smith), 2-108 (Amla), 3-212 J. Patel c Amla b Morkel 5 (Kallis) T. Boult c De Villiers b Morkel 1 C. Martin not out 0 Bowling: Boult 13-0-53-1, Bracewell 17-2-77-1, Extras (lb6, nb1) 7 Martin 12-1-38-0 (1nb), Total (19.2 overs) 45 Franklin 9-1-23-1, Patel 13-1-59-0 Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Guptill), 2-14 (McCullum), 3- To bat: F. du Plessis, D. Elgar, R. Peterson, V. 14 (Brownlie), 4-27 (Williamson), 5-27 (Watling), Philander, D. Steyn, M. 6-28 (Franklin), 7-31 (Bracewell), 8-38 (Patel), Morkel 9-45 (Boult) Bowling: Steyn 7.2-2-18-2, Philander 6-3-7-5, Match situation: South Africa lead by 207 runs with seven first innings wickets remaining.

Morkel 6-2-14-3 (1nb)

Pakistan School & College, Future Star reach final Kuwait Cricket’s U-18 school cricket KUWAIT: The carnival of school cricket reached its climax as Pakistan School & College & Future Star Cricket academy reached the final of Kuwait’s Cricket’s U-18 school tournament sponsored by Gulf Four.

In the first semi final, Carmel school took on Pakistan School & College and surprisingly decided to field first. Splendid batting effort spearheaded by keeper Abdul Wahab (25 runs) & Qassim (21 runs) enabled the PSC team to put on a 54 runs opening partnership. Thereafter, a businesslike cameo innings from Mohammed Fouzi & a fruitful partnership with captain Abdul Jabbar laid the foundation of a huge score as Pakistan school posted 215 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs.

The pair looked to push some quick singles to keep the score ticking over and Mohammed Fouzi in particular got off to a flyer as he played with superb timing and picked up the lengthy deliveries to beautifully play it all over the ground. A neatly timed flick over the midwicket fence was the shot of the day. Fouzi’s entertaining knock of 84 runs contained 8 superbly timed sixes and four well hit boundaries while Jabbar scored 26 runs. Carmel school bowlers Waseef (2-36) & Heinz (2-25) bowled exceptionally well to contain the batsmen.

Carmel school started off well but the

sheer pace of lanky paceman Shahrouk who produced plenty of bounce was too hot to handle and in a chase scored 128 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. Opener Aleem stood among the ruins to score a solid 50 runs. Shahrouk took 2 for 25 runs while spinners Abdul Jabbar & Abdul wahab took 2 wickets each to fetch Pakistan School & College a right place in the final. Principal of Pakistan School & College presented the Player of the match trophy to Mohammed Fouzi for his splendid batting performance.

In the second match of the day, Future Star cricket Academy, working like a well oiled unit produced their best so far to upset the applecart of Friends XI and reached the final. The highly rated Fiends XI after winning all the matches in the robin round league, were confident and fielding first restricted the Future Star academy team to 117 in 20 overs. Captain and south paw Ali Zaheer played well to score 25 runs and Zakaria supported him well to score 16 runs. Friends XI spinners Ahmed (2-19) & Bassem 2-16 produced exceptional bowling skills to skittle the Future star team to a moderate total.

A highly confident Friends XI started well as in form Mudassar cracked a magnificent 33 runs and along with Nabeel who anchored the innings with 20 runs put on

Combined Pakistan School & College and Carmel school teams with officials. (Inset) Mohammed Fouzi receiving the Player of the Match from Pakistan School & College Principal Mrs. Zareena Ghulam Khan and Asad Baig, Director General, Kuwait Cricket.

55 runs partnership. Anyway, the introduction of spinners put the brakes on the scoring rate and wickets fell like nine pins to the superb bowling performance by Bilal who took (3-3) & Murshed who flighted and turned the ball well, rattled the Friends

XI innings to 105 runs. Ali Zaheer also bowled exceptionally well to capture 2 wickets for 22. Jassim who fought till the end scored 20 runs for Friends XI. Murshed was declared Player of the match for his excellent bowling performance.

18

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

SPORTS

Djokovic suffers shock loss

BRISBANE: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus hits a backhand return against Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the second round at the Brisbane International tennis tournament.—AFP

Azarenka defeats Lisicki in Brisbane BRISBANE: Ever dissatisfied world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka began her buildup to the Australian Open with an imposing 6-3 6-3 victory over big-serving Sabine Lisicki in the Brisbane International second round yesterday.

The defending Australian Open champion made light work of the German to set up a quarter-final clash against qualifier Ksenia Pervak. “I’m such a picky person that I probably never will be satisfied,” Azarenka told reporters.

“That’s a good thing because I have a lot more matches to play and I can always improve. But it was pretty good. I felt like the things that I’ve been working on are there. I’m getting into the competitive groove and I’m happy where I’m at right now.”

Azarenka faces a challenge to her top ranking from world No. 2 Maria Sharapova and No. 3 Serena Williams when the Australian Open begins at Melbourne Park on Jan. 14. “I actually don’t really look at defending anything - I’m just looking to win,” she said. “I’m going to have the same

mindset for as long as I’m playing.

That’s what I’m looking forward to improving my game as I always do and match those big challenges, the big players. “At the beginning of the year, you’re obviously hungry to play. The atmosphere here in Australia brings out the best in me. The motivation is always extraordinary. I really like it here.”

Williams will follow Azarenka on to Pat Rafter Arena today when she plays fellow countrywoman Sloane Stephens. The powerful and athletic 19-year-old is regarded as the successor to Serena and Venus Williams as the face of American tennis.

“She’s so sweet,” Stephens said of Serena Williams. “I love her. Obviously she’s been a really great influence on my tennis career. I’m excited to play her and get on the court with her tomorrow. I think it’ll be fun.”

Men’s top seeds Andy Murray and Milos Raonic start their campaigns today against Australia’s John Millman and Bulgarian Grigor Dmitrov respectively.—Reuters

Li cruises in China BEIJING: Chinese tennis star Li Na cruised through to the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open yesterday with a straight sets victory over American Julia Cohen. The 2011 French Open singles winner and top seed took one hour and 34 minutes to defeat Cohen 6-3, 6-4.

The Chinese number one will face eighth seed Bojana Jovanovski, from Serbia, in the next round. Li’s compatriot Zhou Yimiao also powered through

to the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 victory over Chang KaiChen from Taiwan.

She will face Romania’s Monica Niculescu, who disposed of British teenager Laura Robson in their secondround match on Tuesday. The Shenzhen Open-carrying total prize money of $500,000 — is being played for the first time as tennis expands in China on the back of Li’s huge popularity.—AFP

PERTH: Serbia beat Australia at the Hopman Cup despite world number one Novak Djokovic suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Bernard Tomic yesterday. It was Djokovic’s first defeat on Australian soil since 2010, with the Serbian aiming for his third straight Australian Open title in Melbourne later this month.

With the 20-year-old Tomic showing the undoubted talent he has only displayed in flashes so far in his short career, a rusty Djokovic was broken in the ninth game of each set, losing 6-4, 6-4.

Tomic applied great pressure to the Djokovic serve throughout, holding 13 break points during the match. He also hit 25 winners, to just 12 from Djokovic. It was the first time the Serbian had been beaten by Tomic, ranked 52nd in the world, in four official meetings.

Djokovic, 25, dismissed the setback, having arrived in Perth only a few days ago after winning in Abu Dhabi. “I knew I was coming here to Australia very late and it takes me time to get used to it,” he said. “I know I am not close to my maximum, but I expected that. “I was always on the back foot and he was the better player.”

Djokovic said he was fully aware of Tomic’s talent, the Australian reaching a careerhigh ranking of 27 at June.

Tomic was a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon in 2011 and made the fourth round at last year’s Australian Open.

“He is right up there with the up-and-coming players, he is very talented,” Djokovic said of Tomic. “He knows the game well and tactically plays very well for someone his age. “He definitely has the game.”

Tomic said it was the best win of his career and a result that he needed to build on. “I am still improving and I have got a lot more to improve,” he said. “This is a good sign and I have to continue to play like this.” Ana Ivanovic then levelled the Group A tie with a 6-2, 6-3

PERTH: Novak Djokovic of Serbia challenges a heckler in the crowd after serving a fault against Bernard Tomic of Australia during their eighth session men’s singles match on day five of the Hopman Cup tennis tournament.—AFP win over teenager Ashleigh Barty. Serbia clinched the tie and remained unbeaten with a 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 10-6 win in a match tiebreak in the mixed doubles.

Earlier yesterday, former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone showed her fighting qualities as Italy beat Germany 2-1. Needing to win her singles match to keep

Italy alive in the tie and the mixed teams tournament, the world number 35 was a set and a break down while battling stomach pain against littleknown German Tajana Malek, but rallied determinedly to win in three sets.

Things were going to script when Schiavone won the first three games of the match, but the 112th-ranked German then

won the next eight games in succession, before the Italian steadied to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Schiavone and Andreas Seppi then clinched the tie with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Tommy Haas and Malek in the mixed doubles. Haas had given the Germans the lead in the tie with a hard-fought straight sets win over Seppi, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (9/7).—AFP

Tipsarevic advances in Chennai Open CHENNAI: World number nine Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia opened his campaign in the ATP Chennai Open yesterday with an emphatic win that lifted him into the quarter-finals.

Tipsarevic, seeded second behind world number six Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the $430,000 season opener, brushed aside Frenchman Edouard RogerVasselin 6-2, 6-3 in a second-round match.

Tipsarevic, who lost to Canadian Milos Raonic in last year’s final, was delighted at winning his first match in the tournament after being given a bye in the first round. “It is never easy to win the first match, but I think I played reasonably well to win in straight sets,” said the 28-year-old Serb.

“I did not drop my serve and took advantage of the unforced errors my opponent made, especially in the first set. “This is my fifth visit to Chennai and I hope I can win the title for the first time this year. I know other players are already looking at the Australian Open, but I look at it differently. “If I win in Chennai, it will be a real morale booster for Australia,” said Tipsarevic, who beat US Open and Olympic champion Andy Murray at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week.

The Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam, starts in Melbourne on January 14. Tipsarevic next plays eighth seed Go Soeda of Japan, who overcame a spirited challenge from Indian qualifier Prakash Amritraj before winning 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 30 minutes.

Soeda, a semi-finalist last year after making the main draw as a lucky loser from the

Janko Tipsarevic qualifying round, said he was fortunate to be still afloat in the tournament. “I did not play very well today and made many mistakes from the baseline,” said Soeda, Japan’s number two player after Kei Nishikori.

“I will have to play better if I am to compete against a strong player like Tipsarevic.” Sixth seed Robin Haase of the Netherlands was knocked out in the second round by Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, los-

ing 7-5, 6-3. Bedene’s quarter-final opponent will be fourth seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who defeated CedrikMarcel Stebe of Germany 6-4, 6-3 in the last singles match of the night. Berdych and third seed Marin Cilic of Croatia, handed byes in the first round along with Tipsarevic and Wawrinka, will join the action today. Berdych meets Indian wildcard Somdev Devvarman, while Cilic takes on Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine.—AFP

Swiss skipper disqualified from Vendee Globe race

BREST: Picture taken on October 1, 2012 of Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm sailing onboard his ‘Cheminees Poujoulat’ monohull off the coast of Brest. Bernard Stamm has been disqualified of the 7th edition of the Vendee Globe solo roundthe-world race for an infringement of an article of the Notice of Race while he was repairing his boat’s hydro generators.—AFP

PARIS: Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm has been disqualified from the solo, non-stop, round-the-world yacht race the Vendee Globe for receiving assistance, the international jury overseeing the competition said yesterday.

The jury, which is independent of the race organisers, said in a statement that Stamm had been helped when he made a pitstop in the Auckland Islands of New Zealand on December 23 to repair a broken generator.

Specifically, he breached race rules by mooring his Cheminees Poujoulat

boat to a Russian scientific vessel with help from a crew member, although Stamm maintained that mooring was unavoidable because his craft was drifting and it was an emergency.

On the point of receiving assistance from a crew member of the Russian ship, he said they had come on board without him asking-and without knowing that he was participating in a solo race-to help him moor safely.

“When I saw him on board I did not find any reason that could justify to send him back from the board,” he

wrote in his justification to the jury, whose decision was published on vendeeglobe.org. Stamm has until today morning to request a review of the decision. If none is forthcoming, the disqualification will come into effect, it added.

The sailor and his Cheminees Poujoulat boat were in 10th position in the race at 0800 GMT yesterday.. French skipper Francois Gabart was in the lead, some 15.5 nautical miles (18 miles, 29 kilometres) ahead of compatriot Armel Le Cleac’h.—AFP

19

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

SPORTS Demba Ba

Southampton interrupt Arsenal’s momentum Southampton 1

Arsenal 1

Chelsea given green light for Ba transfer LONDON: Chelsea have been given permission to approach Newcastle United striker Demba Ba after making an offer that triggered a release clause in his contract, Newcastle confirmed yesterday.

Chelsea can now open talks with the 27year-old Senegal striker after meeting the £7 million ($11.4 million, 8.6 million euros) asking price stipulated in his contract.

Ba, who joined Newcastle in 2011, was subsequently withdrawn from manager Alan Pardew’s squad for the Premier League fixture at home to Everton yesterday. “Newcastle United can confirm that Chelsea Football Club has made an official offer for Demba Ba which has triggered the release clause in the player’s contract,” Newcastle said in a statement.

“The club has given the player permission to speak to Chelsea FC and therefore he will not be included in the squad for tonight’s (Wednesday’s) game against

Everton.” Ba has been a major success at St James’ Park, scoring 16 league goals in his debut season and taking his total for the current campaign to 13 with a brace in the 7-3 loss at Arsenal on Saturday.

The Senegalese frontman made his name during a prolific four-year spell with German club Hoffenheim and joined English side West Ham United in January 2011 after a proposed move to Stoke City collapsed due to a failed medical examination. He scored seven goals in 12 games for West Ham but left to join Newcastle after the London club were relegated at the end of the 2010-11 season. Meanwhile, French right-back Mathieu Debuchy was reportedly set to arrive in Newcastle yesterday to begin talks over a move to the club. The 27year-old Lille defender was expected to travel to Newcastle after the two clubs reportedly agreed a fee for his transfer over the weekend.—AFP

Ferguson plans rotation for FA Cup third-round WIGAN: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has confirmed that he will rotate his squad once again for the FA Cup thirdround tie at West Ham United at the weekend. United retained their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 4-0 win at Wigan Athletic on Tuesday. It was their fourth game in 10 days and only four players-David de Gea, Patrice Evra, Jonny Evans and Michael Carrick-have started in each of those games.

The United manager made five changes from the team that beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 on Saturday and is determined to keep his squad fresh. “Yes, we will make a few changes for the cup tie,” he said. “The likes of Patrice Evra and Michael Carrick, we took them off as soon as we got the third goal. “They deserve a break and they have played in all the games. We’ll have a look at the situation. We’ve got fresh players.

“Young Shinji (Kagawa) came in. We’ve got plenty of players to freshen it up.”

United have picked up eight wins in their last nine Premier League matches, with a 11 draw at Swansea City the only blemish in that run.

But the United manager says last season’s collapse, which saw United lose an eight-point lead over the course of the final six games, means he will not take the advantage at the top of the table for granted. “Over the years, December has been a good month for us. This time it has put us into a seven-point lead with 17 games left,” he said. “It’s not what I would say is a healthy lead, but it is a lead. It gives us something to kick on with. We just don’t want to make mistakes like we did last year.” Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has suggested that the arrival of

Robin van Persie has been the difference in the title race to this point. The Dutchman, 29, who joined in a £24 million ($39 million, 29.6 million euros) deal from Arsenal, added further weight to that argument by taking his tally to 16 Premier League goals for the season with a brace at the DW Stadium. Ferguson says he always expected van Persie to be a success.”We knew we were getting a top player, a major player who would make a difference to the team.

That’s why we went for him,” he said.

“I knew he would make the difference because of his maturity, because I made the point at the time: he has great international experience, he’s played for Arsenal for seven years, and he came to us at the very peak of his career, which we are delighted about.”

Javier Hernandez opened the scoring at Wigan when he thumped in after Patrice Evra’s effort was blocked by Ali Al Habsi and Van Persie curled in a fine second just before half-time. After van Persie’s free-kick was blocked by the wall, Hernandez added a third with a shot on the turn before van Persie tapped in from a Danny Welbeck cross in the closing stages.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez was forced to begin the match with eight players who had started each of the Latics’ four matches over the previous 11 days.

“To play four games in the space of 11 days was very tough and the opposition made five changes and brought in fresh legs,” he said. “It was an unfair game for us.

United can make those changes and not drop the quality. They have a clear identity in the way they play, they’re a strong squad, and it will be very difficult to reduce the gap at the top.”—AFP

Ibrahimovic happy to be transforming PSG DOHA: Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic yesterday said that Paris SaintGermain’s transformation is a work in progress, with results in all competitions this season key to attracting the best players in the world.

“Paris is a club in major transition,” the 31-year-old former AC and Inter Milan striker said in the Qatari capital Doha, where the club is training during the French league’s winter break. “We have some fantastic players but this project only began a year-and-a-half ago and I have only been here six months but I have seen things advance very, very quickly.”

Ibrahimovic is currently the top scorer in Ligue 1 with 18 goals and said he and his team-mates were working hard every day to improve to the standard of Europe’s biggest clubs. He added that he had “aged 10 years” since arriving at the Parc des Princes from the San Siro six months ago, given the massive scrutiny of big-spending PSG, which is owned by Qatari investors, and interest in his performances.

“For me, everything has been positive but in the end everything depends on the results. If we win, everything will be better,” he added. Carlo Ancelotti’s team go into the second half of the season joint top with Lyon and Marseille and also have a Champions League last 16 encounter with Spanish side Valencia to look forward to on February 12.

Ibrahimovic accepted that a move to PSG, whose reputation has not been matched by silverware in recent years, may have been seen as a surprise but he said the transfer was all geared towards helping the club develop.

“I knew when I came here, it would be a big thing for the media because to come

Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Paris was not necessarily expected for a player at the peak of his career,” he added.

“If you look at the project, the people behind the club and the players who have come here, the situation is different.

“There are clubs like Paris or Manchester City who want to become big clubs and the best players will not necessarily decide to join a club based on their history, it will also come down to a new project and new excitement.”

“For the rest of the season, we have to concentrate on all competitions, even the French Cup. We are training every day to achieve our goals and we want to win everything.—AFP

SOUTHAMPTON: Shot-shy Arsenal needed an own goal to rescue a 1-1 draw at Southampton on Tuesday after record signing Gaston Ramirez had given Southampton the lead at St Mary’s. Victors by seven goals to three against Newcastle United at the weekend, Arsenal managed only one shot on target in 90 minutes at Southampton.

But for Guly do Prado deflecting a free-kick by the disappointing Theo Walcott into his own net before half-time, Southampton would have got the win they deserved for a more committed performance.

Following four successive wins, Arsenal were a poor shadow of the team that had won their previous four matches, while Southampton moved out of the bottom three of the Premier League with their third successive draw.

Saints brought back Artur Boruc in goal and dropped Kelvin Davis after the 3-3 draw at Stoke City but the Polish goalkeeper had an inauspicious start, allowing Jack Wilshere’s corner kick to slip through his hands then fumbling what should have been another easy catch.

With the goalkeeper in such uncertain form, Arsenal should have tested him with some early shots, but they failed to do so even though they dominated the early possession.

The hosts were struggling to deal with Wilshere and Santi Cazorla in midfield, but they battled their way back into the match with some determined tackling and were soon forcing the Arsenal defenders to kick anywhere.

Arsenal were lucky when refer-

LONDON: Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud and Southampton’s Maya Yoshida (right) battle for the ball during the English Premier League match.—AP ee Lee Probert gave a free-kick against Ramirez when he won the ball from Wilshere and set off for goal when it looked as though the England midfield player had run into the Uruguayan rather than vice-versa.

Ramirez then unsuccessfully claimed a penalty when he threw himself over Thomas Vermaelen’s challenge, but after 35 minutes he was celebrating, even if it was a messy goal.

First, Lukas Podolski gave possession away to Morgan Schneiderlin, who had a chance to shoot but tried to set up Rickie Lambert instead. His pass was poor, but Bacary Sagna’s interception hit Southampton’s Jason Puncheon and rebounded for Ramirez to drive low past Wojciech Szczesny.

If that was scrappy, then

Arsenal’s equaliser two minutes later was even worse. Walcott, playing against his old club, curled in a free-kick from the left that seemed to be going harmlessly to Boruc, but Brazilian winger Guly swung a foot at the ball at the near post and deflected it into his own net. Saints looked to try to regain the lead, but Kieran Gibbs nipped ahead of Puncheon when danger threatened.

Arsenal got the ball in the net again before half-time, only for Walcott’s shot from Wilshere’s pass to be ruled out for offside. It had been a poor first half, and the second did not begin promisingly, with clearances ballooned up in the air and a succession of offsides, but Guly brought the home fans to their feet after 54 minutes with a 22-yard shot that Szczesny

palmed round the post.

The goalkeeper had to be alert again moments later, grabbing the ball on the goal-line when Guly’s corner rebounded goalwards off Sagna’s knee. Saints were getting on top, and Szczesny was lucky when Schneiderlin got down the right and crossed low.

The keeper could only palm the ball out and was relieved to see it fall behind Lambert as the Saints top scorer moved in for the kill. Then a raised flag denied Ramirez a second after he seemed to have beaten the offside trap and beaten Szczesny.

Three minutes from time, Puncheon could have won the game after cutting in from the right, but his fiercely hit shot was too close to Szczesny, who fisted it away.—AFP

Hooper scores late winner for Celtic GLASGOW: Gary Hooper scored a late winner after Fraser Forster saved a penalty as Celtic claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win over Motherwell to head into the Scottish Premier League’s winter break with a nine point lead at the top of the table.

Celtic had a second minute header from Georgios Samaras ruled out for offside and Darren Randolph superbly saved a Charlie Mulgrew free-kick as the home side laid siege to the Motherwell goal early on.

However, Well weathered the storm and Jamie Murphy, in his last game for the Fir Park side before his transfer to Sheffield United, twice missed chances to give his side the lead before the break.

The stage looked set for a dream end to Murphy’s Motherwell career when he earned them a 76th minute penalty after being tripped by Kelvin Wilson in the box but Forster was the hero when he made a tremendous save to turn Tom Hately’s spotkick round the post.

Celtic took heart from the penalty save and Hooper handed them the three points in the 80th minute when he finished a move he had started by turning a low Samaras cross past Randolph.

Hoops’ first team coach Garry Parker was relieved to get the win. “We had a lot of pressure and I didn’t think it was coming until late on but it’s always nice to get the win,” Parker said. “I think we had a lot of pressure and started off very well and I think we had 18 shots on target. It wasn’t until late on that we scored a goal but I think we fully deserved the three points and we are in a good position now.”

His Motherwell counterpart was disappointed not to get anything from the match.

“I don’t think it was a bad penalty but it was a terrific save,” Stuart McCall said.

“Celtic started well but I thought we got into the game and in the second half we had opportunities. Overall I am disappointed to lose but I’m proud of the how the players performed after an edgy start.”

Celtic had made three changes from the side that lost to Hibernian on Saturday with Kris Commons and Mulgrew returning from injury while Beram Kayal was handed a starting role as captain Scott Brown missed out completely.

The Hoops started brightly and thought they had taken a second minute lead when Samaras glanced a header past Randolph from a Commons cross but his effort was ruled out for offside.

A Samaras cross was then directed towards goal by Hooper but Randolph kept it out. The rebound fell to Commons but Simon Ramsden was out quickly to block his fierce

Gary Hooper of Celtic celebrates in this file photo strike. With only eight minutes on the clock Randolph was again called into action as he superbly tipped a curling Mulgrew free-kick from 20 yards out over the bar after it looked destined for the top left-hand corner.

Murphy captained Motherwell in his last appearance and he was handed the chance to mark it with a goal when Keith Lasley set him up but the forward blazed his shot over the bar from the edge of the box.

Murphy appeared determined to leave Motherwell on a high and after selling his marker a dummy he darted into the box and curled an effort just wide of Forster’s far post.

A minute later at the other end Ramsden had to hook a Samaras header off the line and there was still time for Efe Ambrose to

knock an effort over the bar from four yards out as never side could make the breakthrough before the interval. The Hoops continued to press for an opener and after Kayal sent a low drive just wide Randolph then had his palms stung by a fierce strike from Commons. Murphy earned his side a 76th minute penalty but after being booked for coming off his line Forster threw himself down low to his right to turn Hately’s penalty round the post.

Celtic were fired up by the save and just four minutes later took the lead in a quick breakaway move. Hooper fed Samaras down the left wing and then made a lung-bursting run to get on the end of his cross into the box and finish low past Randolph.—AFP

SPL results/standings Aberdeen 2 (Vernon 11, McGinn 53) Dundee United 2 (Gunning 20, Langfield 34-og); Celtic 1 (Hooper 79) Motherwell 0; St Johnstone 1 (Craig 33) Dundee 0; St Mirren 1 (McGowan 68pen) Kilmarnock 1 (Kelly 5-pen); Ross County v Inverness CT — postponed (waterlogged pitch).

Scottish Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Celtic Inverness CT Motherwell Hibernian Aberdeen St Johnstone

21 13 4 21 8 10 22 9 7 21 9 4 22 8 7 22 7 9

4 40 3 44 6 37 8 31 7 30 6 24

15 43 35 34 30 34 29 31 28 31 26 30

Kilmarnock Dundee Utd Hearts St Mirren Ross County Dundee

21 21 20 22 20 21

7 6 6 6 4 3

7 7 32 8 7 33 7 7 20 7 9 30 9 7 21 3 15 13

27 28 34 26 22 25 38 25 30 21 41 12

Chelsea given green light for Ba transfer

South Africa dominate after N Zealand crash

19

17

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

Jayawardene hoping for improved send off

Page 17

DOHA: Viktor Troicki of Serbia returns the ball to Lukas Lacko of Slovakia during the Qatar ATP Open Tennis tournament. (Inset) France’s Gael Monfils serves the ball to his German opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber. —AP

Monfils upsets third seed in Qatar DOHA: Gael Monfils, the former world No.7 from France who is seeking to resurrect his career after a knee injury, upset the seedings to reach the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open in his first tournament back. Without a match for two and a half months, and now down at 77 in the rankings, Monfils edged out Philipp Kohlschreiber, the third-seeded German, by 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a two-hour contest full of absorbing, varied rallies.

These suggested no further problems with Monfils’ long-lasting ailment. They also hinted at seriously renewed ambition for the 26-year-old Switzerland-based Parisian, who has often appeared to possess enough speed, serving ability,

and inspirational flair to make the later stages of Grand Slams. Now though, after a mental dip in the second set, it was greater consistency which enabled Monfils to prevail in the final stages of the deciding set, in which he snatched its only break of serve in the very last game.

“I didn’t know what to expect (from myself), but I produced good tennis,” said Monfils, whose biggest dilemma often seemed to be in regaining an instinct for how and when to mix patience with daring. “I am physically a hundred percent,” he insisted. “My knee is fine, and I moved well and I ran fast. I am very happy. Tonight I am pleased with my game.” Monfils also timed perfectly the one break

of serve which decided the first set, grabbing it in the last game as he punished Kohlschreiber for two dicey approaches to the net.

The German has nevertheless finished 2012 as his country’s top player and as a top 20 player for the first time, and showed his ability as he quickly got on top in the second set when Monfils’ standard dropped. This appeared to be a response to a warning the Frenchman got for a time violation — taking too long between rallies — and after dropping serve immediately, he was soon a double break down and out of that set.

When twice break point down in the third game of the final set, though, Monfils’ responses were dif-

ferent. A forehand drive taken enterprisingly from the backhand tramline averted the first crisis and a heavy serve the other. After that his focus seemed to intensify. By contrast Kohlschreiber appeared to commit himself inflexibly to all-out attack on crucial points during the climax of the contest.

He was a second match point down after risking a foray to the net, only to find Monfils’ dipping response catching him low at his feet. And Kohlschreiber lost it with another ambitious backhand, this time directed over the high part of the net but instead catching it.

Monfils on Thursday has a last eight meeting with another German, Daniel Brands, a qualifier

Davis Cup row brews in India

Blazers roll over Knicks NEW YORK: The Portland Trail Blazers overcame Carmelo Anthony’s 45 points and spoiled Amare Stoudemire’s season debut, beating the New York Knicks 105-100 on Tuesday night. Nicolas Batum scored 26 points for Portland, and Damian Lillard had 21 points, six assists and five rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Stoudemire had six points on 3-of-8 shooting and one rebound in 17 minutes off the bench in his return from knee surgery.

Anthony shot 14 of 24 and nearly led the Knicks back from 19 points down after missing two games with a knee injury, but the Trail Blazers had too many options. JJ Hickson scored all of his 18 points in the first half as Portland won for the third time in four games. Anthony had missed the previous two games with a hyperextended left knee. J.R. Smith had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks.

Hawks 95, Hornets 86 In New Orleans, Josh Smith scored 10 of his 23 points in the third quarter to lead Atlanta to the win. Al Horford added 20 points, Kyle Korver had 14 and Zaza Pachulia 12 for the Hawks.

Hornets guard Eric Gordon, playing in his first home game this season, scored 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting.

He made his season debut in a victory over Charlotte on Saturday after recovering from a knee injury. Ryan Anderson scored 23 points and Greivis Vasquez added 17 for the Hornets.

Vasquez also had 10 assists and nine rebounds. The Hornets’ Anthony Davis struggled from the floor, making four of nine shots for nine points but had 12 rebounds and blocked four shots.

Mavericks 103, Wizards 94 In Washington, Vince Carter scored 23 points, O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison had 15 apiece and the Mavericks snapped a six-game losing streak. When the Wizards (4-25) took a

14-point lead early in the second quarter, Dallas, which had arrived in Washington in the midst of its longest skid in nearly 14 years, rallied. The Mavericks trailed by four at the half and outscored the Wizards 35-19 in the third to take an 83-71 lead. Chris Kaman scored 12 points for Dallas, and Shawn Marion had 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. Bradley Beal equaled a career high with 22 points for the Wizards.

Pistons 103, Kings 97 In Auburn Hills, Greg Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Pistons held on for their first threegame winning streak of the season.

Sacramento cut a 16-point fourthquarter deficit to one, and Detroit led 100-97 when Austin Daye made a 3pointer with the shot clock running down with 11.5 seconds left. Detroit has won five of six, in large part because of terrific play from its reserves. The group scored 44 points

NBA results/standings Dallas 103, Washington 94; Portland 105, NY Knicks 100; Detroit 103, Sacramento 97; Atlanta 95, New Orleans 86; Denver 92, LA Clippers 78; Philadelphia 103, LA Lakers 99.

NY Knicks Brooklyn Philadelphia Boston Toronto Indiana Chicago Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland Miami Atlanta Orlando Charlotte Washington

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L 21 10 16 15 15 17 14 16 11 20 Central Division 18 13 16 13 16 13 12 22 7 25 Southeast Division 21 8 20 10 12 19 8 23 4 25

PCT .677 .516 .469 .467 .355

GB 5 6.5 6.5 10

.581 .552 1 .552 1 .353 7.5 .219 11.5 .724 .667 .387 .258 .138

1.5 10 14 17

Western Conference Northwest Division Oklahoma City 24 6 Denver 18 15 Portland 16 14 Minnesota 14 13 Utah 15 17 Pacific Division LA Clippers 25 7 Golden State 21 10 LA Lakers 15 16 Sacramento 11 20 Phoenix 11 21 Southwest Division San Antonio 25 8 Memphis 19 9 Houston 17 14 Dallas 13 19 New Orleans 7 24

.800 .545 .533 .519 .469

7.5 8 8.5 10

.781 .677 3.5 .484 9.5 .355 13.5 .344 14 .758 .679 3.5 .548 7 .406 11.5 .226 17

ranked outside the top 150 - with every prospect of making the semis.

Earlier Mikhail Youzhny, the number four seed, became another of six seeds to have fallen in two and a half days. His defeat created very different emotions within a 40-hour span. Youzhny had been sharing a celebratory new year’s drink with his fellow Russian, Nikolay Davydenko, two days ago.

Now he was trying to shrug off disappointment as he was beaten by his compatriot.

Davydenko, a 31-year-old former world No.3, was impressive during the second set of a 7-5, 6-3 win which suggested it may indeed be worth making one last major push for success.—AFP

NEW YORK: Tyson Chandler No. 6 of the New York Knicks and JJ Hickson No. 21 of the Portland Trail Blazers fight for the tipoff at Madison Square Garden.—AFP Tuesday despite losing Charlie been bothered by tightness in his left Villanueva to a second-quarter ejec- Achilles’ tendon for the past week, forction. DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points ing him to miss a game for the first time this season. and 14 rebounds for the Kings.

Nuggets 92, Clipppers 78 In Denver, Danilo Gallinari led six Nuggets players in double figures with 17 points and Denver stopped the Los Angeles Clippers’ franchise-record winning streak at 17 games with a 9278 victory Tuesday night. The Clippers’ streak was the longest in the NBA since the Boston Celtics won 19 in a row from Nov. 15-Dec. 23, 2008. Kenneth Faried added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who won their eighth in a row at home.

The Clippers, whose point total was two above their season low, were hurt by poor shooting from 3-point range (5 of 29, 17.2 percent) and the freethrow line (13 of 29, 44.8 percent).

Blake Griffin and Eric Bledsoe had 12 points apiece to lead Los Angeles.

Andre Miller, starting in place of point guard Ty Lawson, had 12 points and 12 assists for the Nuggets. Lawson has

76ers 103, Lakers 99 In Los Angeles, Jrue Holiday had 26 points and 10 assists, and Evan Turner added 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead Philadelphia over Los Angeles.

The Lakers (15-16) have matched their worst start after 31 games since the 2002-03 season, when they began defense of their third straight NBA title with a 12-19 record. Kobe Bryant, who shifted from shooting guard to small forward five games ago in coach Mike D’Antoni’s redesigned rotation, led the Lakers with 36 points.

Steve Nash added 12 points and 10 assists. Down by nine with just under 3 minutes to play, the Lakers closed to 99-97 on Bryant’s 3-pointer with 1:28 left. But Spencer Hawes responded with a 21-footer 16 seconds later and Holiday helped close it out on a driving dunk with 22.4 seconds on the clock.—AP

CHENNAI: Indian tennis was hit by controversy yesterday over reports that top players may boycott next month’s Davis Cup tie against South Korea if a slew of demands were not met.

The group of players, headed by Somdev Devvarman, want a better distribution of the Davis Cup prize money, a change in the support staff and involvement in the choice of venues for ties.

The All-India Tennis Association (AITA) and the players currently have a 50-50 share of the prize money sent by the world governing body from revenues earned from the tournament.

The players also wanted non-playing captain Shiv Misra and national coach Nandan Bal to be replaced and a full-time physiotherapist be inducted in the squad. Both the AITA and Devvarman played down a report in Wednesday’s Hindustan Times that the players could stay away from the Cup tie against the Koreans if their demands were ignored.

The Asia-Oceania group one tie in New Delhi from February 1-3 will take the winners into the play-offs for next year’s elite world group. “I don’t want to point fingers at anyone or make an alarming statement,” said Devvarman, who is taking part in the ongoing ATP Chennai Open. “You will probably hear more about it in the days to come.”

An AITA official, who did not want to be named, accepted the players had made suggestions which will be discussed before the Cup squad is named around January 11. “It’s not as serious an issue as is being made out,” the official told AFP. “We have already spoken to the players and will arrive at an agreement soon.”

Among those players supporting Devvarman’ stance are senior players Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, but former captain Leander Paes is not part of the group.

Trouble had also erupted ahead of the London Olympics last year when both Bopanna and Bhupathi declined to partner Paes at the Games for what they said were personal and professional reasons.

The controversy started after the AITA initially named the veteran duo of Bhupathi and Paes for the doubles, even though Bhupathi wanted to play with his then partner Bopanna.

The AITA were later forced to pick two doubles teams for the Olympics, with Paes pairing with lower-ranked Vishnu Vardhan, and Bhupathi partnering Bopanna. Both pairs fell in early rounds at the Games.

Devvarman, who was India’s top player with a ranking of 62 in mid-2011, fell to 663 by the end of last year when he was sidelined with a shoulder injury for almost seven months. The 27-year-old proved he was fit again as he defeated the 106thranked Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic in the first round of the Chennai Open on Tuesday.—AFP

Business

Euro-zone factory slump Deepens; Asia perks up Page 22 Singapore escapes technical recession

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

Page 25 World stocks jump; US staves off ‘cliff’ Page 24 Page 23

US avoids calamity in fiscal cliff drama

DAMAZIN: A general view of the Roseires Dam during the inauguration in Damazin. A torrent of water surged into Sudan’s Blue Nile River at the launch of the expanded Roseires dam, which officials say should help develop one of the country’s poorest regions where insurgents are fighting the government. —AFP

Kuwait, Saudi eye Sudan farmland Sudan launches major dam to boost agricultural production ROSEIRIS: Sudan launched a major dam project on Tuesday to boost power supply and agricultural irrigation, a plan officials hope will foster farmland exports and attract more Gulf investment to the African country as it battles an economic crisis. Faced with the loss of most of its oil reserves with South Sudan’s secession in 2011, Sudan plans to increase exports of agricultural goods, such as wheat, fruits, oil seeds and gum arabic. Oil was the primary source of income for the country’s budget as well as dollars needed to fund imports. A Chinese firm, paid by Gulf donors, heightened and expanded the Roseiris dam on the Blue Nile near the southeastern border with Ethiopia for an estimated $441.5 million over four years.

In one of the biggest development projects in the country in recent years, the project added 10 meters in height and expanded it to 25 kilometers from 13 kilometers in length, helping increase storage capacity to 7.4 billion cubic meters and allowing more power generation. Officials said the dam’s power supply will now rise by 50 percent to 1,800 megawatts, feeding power to several Sudanese states - a relief for ordinary people in a country with frequent outages, even in the capital Khartoum.

The dam will also boost power supply at Sudan’s second largest dam called Merowe north of Khartoum, as it benefits from higher Nile water levels, first engineer Khidir Qassim asSaid said. The expanded Roseiris dam will also provide irrigation for 2 million feddans (acres or hectares) of new farmland in several states which will boost agricultural production, according to Industry Minister Abdul-Wahab Mohammed Osman. An extra 3 million feddan of existing farmland will now get irrigation for the whole year, not just during the rainy season, he said. A fishery factory is also planned at the dam.

Firms from Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have unveiled plans to boost investment in Sudanese farmland, which is prized for its fertile soil. But many projects such as expanding the production of gum arabic, a stabilizer in fizzy drinks, have been hampered by a lack of rain or irrigation. Analysts also blame mismanagement and corruption for the failure of projects. Gulf donors vowed more support for Sudan during the expanded dam’s opening ceremony in order to develop its agricultural sector and strengthen ties with Arab oil producers. “Kuwait will give more support to Sudan,” Abdelwahab Ahmed Al-Badr of Kuwait’s state devel-

opment fund, told the crowd.

FIGHTING PERSISTS Sudanese officials also hope the heightened Roseiris dam will improve development in Blue Nile state, one of the poorest regions where the army is fighting rebels complaining of marginalization. The local economy has been hit hard by the violence which began in September 2011. “The sons of Blue Nile state will be the first to benefit from the dam,” President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir told the ceremony after he opened the dam’s gates.

Though the dam, near the state capital of Damazin, is far away from the border region to South Sudan, where fighting is concentrated, authorities took no chances with security.

Hundreds of soldiers lined the streets from the dam to the airport where the government had flown in hundreds of diplomats, journalists, officials and executives to showcase the project. Military helicopters also circled over the dam during the ceremony. Authorities relocated 22,000 people to make way for the dam, replacing their old villages with new settlements, according to the government. — Reuters

Western sweet tooth gives gum arabic export success Gum arabic exempt from US trade embargo EN NAHUD: Counting piles of banknotes in front of his tiny warehouse, Sudanese trader Maaz Adam is arranging yet another purchase of a red g u m which may find its way into a bottle of soda pop drunk a world away from this dusty town. “I bought today 25 sacks for around 10,000 to 11,000 pounds (around $1,500 at the black market rate),” he says, putting the banknotes in the suitcase of another trader who is preparing to seek more supplies of gum arabic from village farmers.

Business is booming in the western Sudanese town of En Nahud thanks to rising global demand for gum arabic, a natural and edible gum taken from acacia trees growing in the area. Adam paid about 440 pounds per large sack, three times as much as he paid two years ago. Used as an emulsifier to prevent sugar from crystallising in fizzy drinks, as a thickener in confectionery and as a binder for drugs, cosmetics and postage stamps, gum arabic is in high demand in many countries.

It is a rare export success story for Sudan, which has been plagued by ethnic conflicts, poverty and poor economic infrastructure. The gum arabic trade hints at the growth which the country may achieve if it can find ways to mobilize more of its vast areas of arable lands and agricultural resources. Because gum arabic is so important to the soft drinks industry and other products, the United States has exempted it from a broad trade embargo which Washington originally imposed in 1997 over Sudan’s human rights record.

This has allowed Sudan to remain a world power in gum arabic. It hopes rising demand, especially from fast-growing Asian countries, will help to soften an economic crisis triggered by the loss of three-quarters of its oil production when South Sudan seceded in 2011.

Sudan’s association of gum arabic producers estimates farmers will produce up to 80,000 tons of gum arabic in the 2012/2013 season, after enjoying plenty of rain in the oftendry savannah. Last year, they produced about 40,000 tons. The jump in prices is partly driven by Sudan’s soaring annual inflation, which hit 46.5 percent in November, but producers also notice more demand from abroad compared to previous years.

“We have new markets,” said Fatma Ramli, national coordina-

tor of the association. “We now have markets in the Far East, Japan, the Gulf, China as well as America and Europe.”

PROSPERING Gum arabic is produced in Sudan’s savannah belt, which stretches from the western border with Chad to Ethiopia in the east. En Nahud lies in the main farming state of North Kordofan, which alone is expected to produce 40,000 tons in the current season that will end in the spring, Ramli said. “It doesn’t bring in as much as cotton and oilseeds, but its importance comes from the fact that it’s all produced in the poverty belt,” said Abda El-Mahdi, an economist in Khartoum.

Sudan earned $81.8 million from exporting 45,633 tons of gum arabic in 2011, up from $23.8 million on 18,202 tons in 2010, according to the latest central bank data. Subsequent price and volume increases suggest it might earn over $200 million this year.

That would still be only a small fraction of the billions of dollars which Sudan lost because of the secession of the south; in 2010, the last year before secession, Sudan earned at least $5 billion in oil revenues. But the gum arabic boom does suggest developing other export industries is possible for Sudan. There is little reliable production data for gum arabic as some gets smuggled into South Sudan and Chad.

Government officials put Sudan’s global market share at 80 percent, but some analysts think this figure is much too high.

Sudanese farmers, who often produce gum arabic in small groups with little efficiency, risk losing out to growing competition from other countries. Fighting between rebels and the army in three farming regions of Sudan, Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan, has also hit production. “Several other countries came in and competed, Chad, Nigeria...,” said Mahdi. So Sudan’s global market share could have fallen to between 20 to 40 percent, though its gum arabic is still first choice among many consumers because of its high quality, she said.

En Nahud is the last town in western Sudan before a traveler reaches the troubled region of Darfur - the paved road ends here after a 12-hour drive from Khartoum. United Nations food aid trucks continue their trip to Darfur on dirt tracks only after taking armed escorts on board. But while En

Nahud may at first glance look as desolate as other small Sudanese towns, with many of its one-storey brick buildings built during British colonial rule, it is wealthier because of gum arabic.

A large market attracts hundreds of farmers and traders every day. Shops are well-stocked with foreign food products, and restaurants are bustling with people eating meat for breakfast - a luxury for many Sudanese who have to rely on ful, a staple food made of bean and water. “We traded 9,000 tons of gum arabic last year...Prices are on the rise,” said Hashem Umbada, head of a local agricultural bourse where gum arabic, beans and other products are auctioned. In the nearby state capital El-Obeid, a Sudanese firm, one of many newcomers since the government ended a state monopoly on the business in 2009, is building a plant to refine and clean the gum arabic so it can fetch higher prices. Currently, women in a warehouse dust it off before it gets packed into sacks.

FARMERS STRUGGLE Gum arabic enriches a range of people on its route as it is loaded on trucks in En Nahud for a long journey to Port Sudan, where it is transferred to ships. Farmers doing the arduous field work struggle to get their share of the boom.

“There are so many middlemen,” said Mahdi, the economist in Khartoum. “They buy at very cheap prices. They put their fat share on it and the government puts its fat share on it in terms of duties and taxes.”

On a tree plantation outside En Nahud, reached only via unpaved roads lined by thatched houses, village farmer Mohammed Adam says he makes 4,000 pounds a year from his crop. “We wish we could benefit from gum arabic like the exporters,” said Adam, who belongs to one of 3,000 gum arabic associations in Sudan. To feed his family, he also cultivates beans. The UN World Food Program and World Bank provide aid to small farmers in Sudan but the industry also faces another problem: a shortage of workers. Many laborers who used to work for Adam prefer, like an estimated half million Sudanese, to dig for gold in the desert. “We need workers for the tapping, but it’s difficult to get them because they search for gold and they are expensive,” Adam said. — Reuters

News

in brief

Oman to create 20,000 govt jobs MUSCAT: Oman will continue spending heavily on job creation for its citizens this year, Finance Minister Darwish Al-Balushi said yesterday at a news conference on the 2013 budget. “Last year we created 36,000 jobs for Omanis by spending 300 million rials ($780 million),” he said. “This year we will create 56,000 jobs, of which 20,000 will be in the government sector.” He did not specify how large 2013 spending on jobs would be. As previously reported, the budget plan envisages spending of 12.9 billion rials in 2013, up nearly 30 percent from the 2012 plan. Last year’s actual spending was about 13 billion rials, because of outlays on development projects. Last year’s budget envisaged revenues of 8.8 billion rials and an average price for Oman’s oil of $75 per barrel. But because oil actually averaged $109 last year, revenues came in at about 14 billion rials, giving the government a surplus of about 1 billion rials, Balushi said yesterday. He said that surplus would be used to cover part of any deficit this year.

Qtel grabs another15% Tunisiana stake DUBAI: Qatar Telecom (Qtel), the majority stateowned telecommunications operator, has agreed with the Tunisian government to buy a further 15 percent stake in that country’s operator Tunisiana for $360 million. The purchase raises the Qatari firm’s stake in Tunisiana to 90 percent, Qtel said in a statement seen yesterday. Wataniya , Qtel’s Kuwaiti arm, already held 75 percent of Tunisiana. The Tunisian government will retain a 10 percent holding in Tunisiana with a view to conducting a public offer of shares in future, the statement added. Qtel has been raising stakes in its subsidiaries, taking advantage of the gas-rich Gulf state’s healthy financial position at a time when other large telecommunications firms are shying away from deals.

“We also look forward to continuing our partnership with the Tunisian authorities as Tunisiana enters into a new phase of its development with the continuing expansion of 3G services and the launch of fixed line services in 2013,” Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud Al-Thani, chairman of Qtel Group, said in the statement.

India manufacturing activity at 6-mth high MUMBAI: India’s manufacturing activity rose in December to its fastest pace in six months, led by strong factory output and a rise in new orders, a private business survey showed yesterday. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from HSBC, which gives a snapshot of manufacturing health from output to jobs, climbed to 54.7 in December, compared to 53.7 in the previous month. A figure of over 50 indicates growth in the sector while below 50 points to contraction. “Activity in the manufacturing sector picked up again, led by faster output growth and a further uptick in new orders, which led to a faster increase in backlogs of work,” said HSBC chief economist Leif Eskesen. Economist Sonal Varma at Nomura Securities said the PMI data was a good sign for the economy. “The manufacturing sector after stabilizing between July and October began to improve from November and inflation pressures remain under check,” she said. The survey’s findings-based on data from more than 500 manufacturers-come after India’s economic growth fell to 5.3 percent in the JulySeptember quarter, extending a slowdown since the start of the year.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

ArcelorMittal battles sluggish steel demand

Britain urges bold G8 action on economy LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron called on his fellow G8 leaders yesterday to start work now on agreeing “bold steps” to help boost global economic growth, ahead of a summit he will host in June. In a letter marking the start of Britain’s presidency of the Group of Eight richest nations, Cameron laid out his three priorities for the year: to extend free trade, tackle tax evasion and combat corruption. Writing to the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, Cameron said: “It is clear that in 2013 the world will continue to face grave economic uncertainty.”

While each country would rightly focus on their own challenges, he said, “the ambitious standards we set and the bold steps we take by working together through the G8 can make a tangible difference by firing up economies and driving prosperity, not just in our own countries, but all over the world”. But he warned that if the G8 is to see progress in these areas, leaders meeting in Northern Ireland in June need to do more than “whip out a chequebook at the 11th hour, pledge some money and call it a success”. “What we are talking about are longterm changes in our countries and the rules that govern the relationships between them. With ambition on this scale, I am convinced that success depends on us starting a debate on these changes now.”

Cameron said the G8 nations, which together account for about half of global economic output, could offer leadership to ease trade negotiations, adding that the start of talks on a deal between the European Union and the United States would be “perhaps the single biggest prize of all”. The G8 could also “galvanize collective international action” to tackle tax evasion and avoidance by sharing information and looking at whether global standards need to be extended and tightened, he said.

And the prime minister urged the G8 to “put a new and practical emphasis on transparency, accountability and open government” in its relations with less developed and emerging economies, including by improving the way aid is spent.

Cameron added that he was reviewing why Britain had not yet signed up to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which is designed to shed light on who earns what from the exploitation of natural resources. The United States was the only G8 country to have joined, he said, adding: “We need to change that. We cannot call on other countries to live up to these high standards if we are not prepared to do so ourselves.” The last time Britain held the G8 presidency was in 2005, when the summit at Gleneagles in Scotland was overshadowed by the bombings on the London transport system which left 52 people dead. — AFP

ArcelorMittal to sell $1.1bn stake in Canadian unit SEOUL: ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, will sell a 15 percent stake in one of its Canadian iron ore operations, raising $1.1 billion to help pay off debt at a time of sluggish demand. The group, which makes about 6-7 percent of the world’s steel, will sell the stake in ArcelorMittal Mines Canada to a consortium including South Korean steelmaker POSCO and Taiwan-listed China Steel, it said yesterday.

It is the latest in a series of steps to raise funds as slow global economic growth and spending cuts in Europe dampen demand for steel used in the car and construction industry. “It’s one of the more readily disposable parts of the business, and given they need to reduce debt I don’t think its a massive surprise they are selling it,” said Nomura analyst Neil Sampat. ArcelorMittal wrote down the value of its European business by $4.3 billion last month and has had its credit rating cut to non-investment grade by all credit rating agencies. Its net debt rose by $1.2 billion during the third quarter to $23.2 billion at the end of September.

The World Steel Association in October forecast steel demand would rise 2.1 percent in 2012, down from 6.2 percent in 2011.

ArcelorMittal Mines Canada operates two large open-pit mines in the province of Quebec, where it also owns the Port-Cartier industrial complex that includes a pellet plant, storage areas and port facilities for shipping.

ArcelorMittal also owns the huge Mary River iron ore project in Canada’s arctic, in which it sold a 20 percent stake to joint venture partner Nunavut last month. As part of the deal announced yesterday POSCO, China Steel and ArcelorMittal Mines Canada will enter into long-term iron ore supply agreements, ArcelorMittal said.

EUROPEAN TROUBLES ArcelorMittal’s shares rose 3.7 percent in yesterday trading after the deal was announced, while POSCO shares were up 2.6 percent and China Steel rose 0.9 percent. The group needs the funds to help compensate a slump in Europe, where demand is estimated to have fallen about 8 percent in 2012 and 29 percent since the start of the financial crisis in 2007. ArcelorMittal has already announced the closure of blast furnaces in Belgium and France, with other operations on the continent also being temporarily idled due to overcapacity.

Euro-zone factory slump Deepens; Asia perks up

Copper rallies on ‘cliff’ deal LONDON: Copper rose to a three-week high yesterday and approached its biggest daily rise since mid-November, as US Congress struck a deal to avert a fiscal disaster and upbeat data from top metals consumer China boosted the outlook for demand. The United States averted economic calamity on Tuesday when lawmakers approved a deal to prevent huge tax hikes and spending cuts that would have pushed the world’s largest economy off a “fiscal cliff” and into recession.

The resolution that came after months of political wrangling sent stocks higher, weighed on the safe-haven dollar and boosted industrial metals that thrive on a better economic outlook. Benchmark copper on the London metal exchange was trading at $8,102 by 1010 GMT from $7,929 in the last ring on Monday, posting its biggest daily gain since mid-November.

Earlier, it rose as much as 2.5 percent to a session high of $8,130, its highest level since Dec 12. “We started off 2013 on a very positive note.

The market is thinking the fiscal cliff being resolved quickly leaves the year open to maybe a better-than-expected recovery in the US economy,” Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale, said. “The other big thing for the metals market is a strong rebound in China that could be underway; the data is pointing to that. Sentiment is certainly risk-on and the dollar has taken a back seat because of that, so it should be a pretty good beginning for financial markets.”

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index held steady in December at 50.6, matching November’s sevenmonth high and adding to evidence that the world’s secondlargest economy was headed towards steady growth revival.

Technical analysis suggested that LME copper could rise towards $8,140 after it cleared the resistance at $8,063, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao said. The metal, used in power and construction, rose by more than 4 percent in 2012, following a 21 percent fall in 2011. Tin was the outstanding winner of the base metals complex last year, rising almost 22 percent, while lead rose by 15 percent, zinc by 13 percent and aluminum by 3 percent. Bucking the trend, stainless steel material nickel lost 9 percent in 2012.

China’s economy showing signs of revival LONDON: Euro-zone factories sank deeper into recession last month as new orders tumbled, business surveys showed yesterday, a sharp contrast to continuing signs of revival in China. US manufacturing reports, to be released later in the day, are expected to show activity in the world’s largest economy to have expanded modestly. Purchasing managers’ surveys in the 17-nation eurozone showed economic decline spread further into the core members, suggesting the overall economy may have slipped deeper into recession at the end of 2012.

Markit’s Euro-zone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged down to 46.1 in December from November’s 46.2, below a flash reading of 46.3. It has been below the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction since August 2011. “It’s pretty grim really,” said Jonathan Loynes at Capital Economics. “These surveys are pointing to a pretty deep recession. If the German industrial sector is contracting quite sharply it is pretty hard to see where growth across the euro-zone as a whole is going to come from.”

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, saw its crucial manufacturing sector shrink for the 10th straight month and at a faster pace, while French data showed a decline in all but one of the past 17 months. The slump in Spain deepened, while Italy’s index, although improved, remained below 50 for the 17th month. Ireland was the only member of the currency union to show manufacturing growth in December. Separate data yesterday showed French car sales dropped 15 percent in December, the worst annual performance in 15 years, while Spanish new car registrations were down 23 percent. But British factory activity jumped unexpectedly to grow at its fastest pace since September 2011, raising the chance that its economy eked out some growth at the end of 2012.

“The sector seems to be showing some signs of improvement - probably as the eurozone (debt) crisis is easing a little bit and

Chinese growth is bottoming out,” said Rob Wood at Berenberg Bank. In Asia as a whole manufacturing activity expanded, driven by revival in China’s economy, but export demand was uneven, pointing to further sluggish growth for the region. Factory activity in India expanded at its strongest pace in six months in December, boosted by output and a spike in new orders and similar reports showed an increase in South Korea and Taiwan for the first time since May. CHINA REVIVAL? For Asia, much hinges on the pace and quality of the recovery in China as a new generation of leaders prepares to take charge.

The official China manufacturing PMI on Tuesday held steady in December at 50.6, matching November’s seven-month high. A similar survey by HSBC released a day earlier, which focuses more on smaller and mid-sized firms, suggested activity was at its strongest since May 2011. Together the surveys support a growing consensus that economic activity in China picked up during October to December - after GDP growth had slowed for seven consecutive quarters to 7.4 percent in the third quarter-partially offsetting persistent weakness in Europe and Japan.

In India, Asia’s third-largest economy, the HSBC Markit Manufacturing PMI, which gauges the business activity of the country’s factories but not its utilities, jumped to 54.7 in December from 53.7 in November, its biggest monthly rise since January 2012.

Activity in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia, expanded but at a slower rate, as growth of new export orders eased from a month earlier. A lot may depend on elsewhere, however. “Asia is gradually improving, but the region, including China, remains largely exposed to exports and without signs of improvement in the US and Europe it will be hard for activity to take off,” said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economics at HSBC. — Reuters

The Canadian deal will give POSCO, the world’s fourth-biggest steelmaker, increased access to iron ore. POSCO currently imports nearly all of its key raw materials and owns a 12.5 percent stake in Australia’s $10 billion Roy Hill project. Earlier yesterday, a South Korean wire service Yonhap Infomax reported China Steel and POSCO would jointly contribute $540 million, while the remainder was expected to be paid by financial investors including South Korea’s National Pension Service.

A POSCO spokeswoman confirmed a consortium involving POSCO signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire a stake in the iron ore mine operator, but declined to give details.

ArcelorMittal is one of Canada’s top exporters of iron ore to steel markets around the world and its operations account for about 40 percent of Canada’s iron ore output. The transaction is subject to approval from the Taiwanese government, and is expected to close in two installments in the first and second quarters of 2013. Goldman Sachs and RBC Capital Markets were advising ArcelorMittal on the deal, while Morgan Stanley is advising the POSCO consortium. — Reuters

ATHENS: A 35-year-old deaf woman threatens to take her life after climbing up the supports of an art display in Omonia Square, central Athens. The woman, a deaf single mother of two, was protesting serious delays in disability payments that have resulted from successive austerity measures in the crisis-hit country. The 35-year-old was later lifted to safety by firefighters using a crane. — AP

LEAD HITS 15-MONTH HIGH Battery material lead rose to $2,380.25 a ton, its highest since September 2011. “Fundamentally, lead is still a pretty balanced market. Stocks are not excessive, below threeweeks worth of consumption, and we are in a seasonally strong period so there is no reason why prices should not stay at these elevated levels for the next two to three months,” Bhar said. — Reuters

EXCHANGE Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Egyptian pounds US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian dollars Danish Kroner Swedish Kroner Australian dlr Hong Kong dlr Singapore dlr Japanese yen Indian Rs/KD Sri Lanka rupee Pakistan rupee Bangladesh taka UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi Riyal/KD Omani riyals Philippine Peso

.2740000 .4550000 .3700000 .3060000 .2820000 .2910000 .0040000 .0020000 .0761620 .7420270 .3880000 .0720000 .7274250 .0430000 CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES .2805500 .4577730 .3721500 .3080260 .2840440 .0498860 .0434180 .2935250 .0361920 .2298270 .0032180 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0000000 .0764130 .7444610 .0000000 .0748330 .7289850 .0000000

.2840000 .4660000 .3780000 .3160000 .2910000 .3010000 .0067500 .0035000 .0769280 .7494850 .4060000 .0770000 .7347360 .0510000 .2826500 .4612000 .3749350 .3103320 .2861700 .0502590 .0437430 .2957230 .0364620 .2315470 .0032420 .0052210 .0022260 .0029170 .0035580 .0769850 .7500330 .3997880 .0753930 .7344420 .0069670

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka

ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.234 5.174 2.895 2.207 3.246 231.580 36.374 3.516

Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - transfer Irani Riyal - cash

6.880 9.250 0.271 0.273 GCC COUNTRIES 75.217 77.501 732.620 749.170 76.805

Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Egyptian Pound - Cash Egyptian Pound - Transfer Yemen Riyal/for 1000 Tunisian Dinar Jordanian Dinar Lebanese Lira/for 1000 Syrian Lier Morocco Dirham

ARAB COUNTRIES 47.700 44.271 1.316 183.080 397.870 1.892 3.065 33.970

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 281.950 Euro 375.280 Sterling Pound 461.830 Canadian dollar 286.530 Turkish lire 158.590 Swiss Franc 310.860 Australian dollar 296.050 US Dollar Buying 280.750 20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram

GOLD 311.000 157.000 81.500

Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar Japanese Yen Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee

Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 281.350 376.000 462.000 287.400 3.280 5.185 44.170 2.207 3.515 6.875 2.895

Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change

Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit

749.200 76.630 75.130

3.695 3.370 92.045

Bahrain Exchange Company UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal

SELL DRAFT 299.38 289.83 314.50 377.41 281.35 462.90 3.30 3.537 5.144 2.212 3.244 2.900 76.67 749.14 44.66 400.83 732.24 77.69 75.24

SELL CASH 298.000 288.000 312.000 376.000 282.500 462.600 3.690 3.670 5.400 2.370 3.550 3.000 77.500 748.500 47.400 398.600 733.000 77.500 75.500

Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar terling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Thai Bhat

Selling Rate 281.850 283.480 456.305 373.085 309.060 746.190 76.715 77.365 75.125 397.310 44.735 2.213 5.144 2.900 3.496 6.847 691.380 4.270 9.370

Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal

298.700 749.420 3.830 289.200 553.400 45.900 51.200 167.800 47.720 377.700 37.050 5.480 0.032 0.161 0.242 3.330 399.340 0.191 95.470 45.900 4.330 239.300 1.825 52.200 731.980 3.020 7.280 77.950 75.240 232.410 35.200 2.684 464.200 44.600 313.200 3.400 9.570 198.263 76.830 282.200 1.360 GOLD

10 Tola 1,764.050 Sterling Pound US Dollar

TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 462.200 281.800

297.200 749.420 3.516 287.700

232.400 45.522 376.200 36.900 5.175 0.031

399.310 0.190 95.470 3.260 237.800 731.800 2.900 6.890 77.520 75.240 232.410 35.200 2.213 462.200 311.700 3.400 9.430 76.730 281.800

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

6 months on, Monti labor reform has changed little Employers say more red tape makes hiring harder ROME: Overhauling Italy’s rigid labor rules was supposed to be Mario Monti’s flagship reform. It required drawn out, often heated bargaining with unions, employers and political parties. Yet six months after their approval the measures seem to be having little effect on hiring, firing or the labor market in general.

The technocrat premier’s aim was to encourage hiring of permanent rather than temporary workers and to make it easier for firms to shed staff during economic downturns. Businesses and workers’ bodies say it is doing neither. Monti, who resigned as prime minister last month, hoped to boost a chronically low employment rate and end a “dual” labor market made up of over-protected older workers and millions of mostly young people on temporary jobs with no labor rights.

However, he quickly ran into strong opposition, led by the CGIL union which found support from the centre-left Democratic party (PD) that he relied on for his majority and which is now, polls suggest, likely to win February elections. The unions, which largely represent older, more protected workers, held a series of strikes and protests to defend existing job protection. Labour minister Elsa Fornero, who drew up the reform proposal, became a hate figure for millions of workers. After being watered down during a lengthy passage through parliament, the final version of the plan, approved in June last year, slightly eased firing restrictions in large and medium sized firms and made temporary hiring more costly.

Unions warned it could lead to a firing spree, while businesses said it would discourage new hires. Six months on, unionists now admit their fears were exaggerated, but employers say their concerns are being confirmed. “There is no evidence that companies are firing more under the new rules. It just isn’t happening,” said Pierangelo Albini, responsible for labor issues at employers’ lobby Confindustria. No official data is available on the number of workers who have been dismissed under the new norms but even the unions, which are monitoring the situation closely, estimate the figure is negligible.

They were quick to denounce isolated cases concerning telecoms companies Huawei and Vodafone, which attracted attention in Italian media, yet each one involved no more than a couple of workers. “The reform doesn’t actually change much in terms of firing procedures,” said Michele Tamburini, a labour lawyer with a US law firm in Milan. “Potentially, it could make firing easier but it all depends how it is interpreted by judges and hardly anyone wants to test it.” Tamburini said he and his colleagues at other firms had seen no rise in new business in the form of contested dismissals, as some commentators had expected.

PROBLEMS REMAIN Monti, who says he will seek a second term at the Feb 24-25 election, initially defended the reform as a good compromise but now acknowledges its limits and blames the left-wing CGIL union for blocking more radical changes. In a new policy platform presented before Christmas he urged a “drastic simplification” of labor market rules to “overcome the dualism between protect-

said Giorgio Santini, head of labor issues for the CISL trade union, Italy’s second largest. One reason may be that firing procedures are more complicated than ever because the changes have increased the discretionary power of the courts. The reform made it possible for private firms with more than 15 employees to fire individual workers for business reasons, such as a fall in demand, without necessarily having to re-instate them if a judge

VENICE: Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (front center right) walks alongside his wife Elsa (3rd left) during a private visit in Venice. — AFP ed and unprotected workers”. These were exactly the goals his reform was meant to achieve. “Monti’s intentions on the labor reform were right but the politics of it were all wrong,” said Riccardo Barbieri of Mizuho International. “The PD couldn’t let him make firing easier in a pre-election period and in the middle of a recession.”

Despite criticism of some of his reforms, investors would love to see the former European commissioner stay on after the election, ideally at the head of a more cohesive majority that allows him to push through his new agenda. Tens of thousands of workers have lost their jobs since the labor reform was passed as companies close or downsize, but they are still shedding staff under the old terms rather than risking difficulties by trying to capitalize on the reform.

“There has been very little recourse to the new rules,”

ruled the dismissal was unjustified.

In smaller firms, where job protection was much weaker, nothing changed under the reform. The public sector, where protection is strongest of all, was also unaffected. Companies were always able to shed staff if they were restructuring or closing a product line but it was much harder to fire people for poor performance or other reasons. Paradoxically it was easier to shed 10 or 20 workers than one or two. The courts can now order firms to offer wrongly dismissed workers financial compensation rather than giving them their job back. However, if the unfair dismissal is for discriminatory or disciplinary reasons, re-instatement is still obligatory.

Judges now have to decide not only whether a dismissal is justified but also whether it is being attempted for business reasons, disciplinary reasons or due to dis-

crimination. Unions have been ready to fight any cases where they suspected firms were presenting bogus business reasons to shed workers considered difficult or disruptive. Yet even the leftist CGIL union said few had emerged. “There have been maybe a couple of hundred cases that firms have tried to justify under the new rules, and in many we have seen evidence of discrimination and we’ve contested them,” said the CGIL’s head of labour policy Claudio Treves. Other unions put the figure considerably lower.

APPRENTICESHIP FLOP Santini of the CISL union said a positive aspect of the new rules was that they oblige firms to co-ordinate more pre-emptively with unions before trying to fire, meaning that shedding staff had not actually become easier at all.

He said that with the unions acting as mediators there are signs that dismissed workers are more willing to come to terms for financial compensation rather than taking their cases through the courts, though he added that this had often happened even before the reform.

Yet if firing has not become easier, hiring has become more difficult, according to both the CISL and Confindustria. Monti tried to boost the role of apprenticeships, taking Germany as a model, to replace temporary or “precarious” contracts that are seen as the unacceptable face of the dual labor market. These contracts were not scrapped, as some experts urged, but the rules for using them were tightened.

However, both the CISL’s Santini and Confindustria’s Albini said apprenticeships have failed to take off because of too much bureaucracy and a rule - required

by Italy’s Constitution - that regional governments must be partly responsible for organizing the apprenticeship courses, something they are failing to do. “What is happening is confirming some of our worries,” said Albini.

“It’s no easier to fire but it is more expensive and complicated to hire on a temporary basis, which is important flexibility especially at a time of crisis.”

When the labour reform was being watered down in parliament last spring two of Italy’s leading economists, Alberto Alesina of Harvard in the United States and Francesco Giavazzi of Milan’s Bocconi University, warned Monti of the dangers of a weak compromise. “Making do with marginal adjustments would be worse than not doing anything because it would create the illusion that a problem has been solved when it isn’t true,” they said in a joint newspaper column. Their fears now seem well grounded. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said in November it remained “fundamental” that Italy reform its labor market to make it less rigid. Yet it is unlikely that unions or leftist parties will consider returning to the issue soon. — Reuters

US avoids calamity in fiscal cliff drama Victory for Obama; Bill raises taxes on the wealthiest

WASHINGTON: A man walks in front of the Capitol in Washington. The debate in Washington over taxes and spending is likely to continue damaging the fragile economy well into this year. The political standoff has already taken an economic toll, creating uncertainty about the future and discouraging consumers from spending and businesses from hiring and investing. — AP

Political brinksmanship threatens US economy WASHINGTON: An emergency deal reached after weeks of rancorous negotiations will keep the US from driving off the so-called fiscal cliff, but higher taxes and continued political bickering in Washington threaten to shake the fragile US economy well into 2013. A bill passed by Congress late Tuesday averts widespread tax increases and delays spending cuts that had threatened to take a bite out of the economy.

But critical issues, including reduction of the deficit, remain unresolved. Meanwhile, the economy doesn’t have much growth to give. Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo, predicts it will expand just 1.5 percent in 2013, down from a lackluster 2.2 percent in 2012. Unemployment stands at 7.7 percent. Ben Schwartz, chief market strategist for Lightspeed Financial, said unemployment was still likely to edge up and retail sales growth was likely to be weaker than last year. “Regardless of a deal getting done, people on Wall Street are not going to run around giving high fives,” Schwartz said. “The federal government is obviously dysfunctional, to say the least.”

A months-long political standoff over fiscal policy has already taken its toll, adding uncertainty that has discouraged consumers from spending and businesses from hiring and investing. The squabbling seems sure to persist. Lawmakers postponed tough decisions on government spending, giving themselves a reprieve from cuts that were scheduled to begin taking effect automatically Jan. 1. That just sets the stage for more hard-bargaining later. Spending cuts, when they come, could crimp growth even more.

And another standoff is likely to arrive as early as February when Congress will need to raise the $16.4 trillion federal borrowing limit so the government can keep paying its bills. House Republicans probably won’t agree to raise the debt limit without offsetting spending cuts that Democrats are sure to resist. Obama warned Republicans late Tuesday that “if Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic, far worse than the impact of a fiscal cliff.”

Financial markets abroad rallied on news that the fiscal cliff had been forestalled. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 1.7 percent at 6,000 while the CAC-40 in France rose 1.8 percent to 3,707. Germany’s DAX was up 2 percent at 7,765. The

picture was similarly buoyant earlier in Asia with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rising 2.9 percent to close at 23,311.89, its highest finish since June 2011. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.2 percent to close at 4,705.90, its strongest finish in 19 months. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.7 percent to 2,031.10.

The bill will raise taxes on individual incomes over $400,000 and household incomes over $450,000, on investment profits and dividends, and on the portion of estates that exceeds $5 million. Those higher taxes on the wealthy - which will deliver some $600 billion in revenue over 10 years - are likely slow the economy a little bit. But a bigger drag on the economy will come from a tax hike Democrats and Republicans didn’t even bothering to fight over: the end of a two-year Social Security tax cut. The so-called payroll tax is scheduled to bounce back up to 6.2 percent this year from 4.2 percent in 2011 and 2012, amounting to a $1,000 tax increase for someone earning $50,000 a year.

“It’s a huge hit,” says Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. “It hits people whether they’re making $10,000 or they’re making $2 million. It doesn’t matter who you are ... The lower your income, the more of your income you’re (spending). So if you’re taxes go up, it’s going to come out of your spending.” And that is bad news for an economy that is 70 percent consumer spending. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, calculates that the higher payroll tax will reduce economic growth by 0.6 percentage points in 2013. The other possible tax increases - including higher taxes on household incomes above $450,000 a year will slice just 0.15 percentage points off annual growth, Zandi said. The fiscal cliff itself was created to force Democrats and Republicans to compromise, and it succeeded - barely.

To end a 2011 standoff over raising the federal debt limit, they agreed to a Jan. 1, 2013 deadline to reach a deal over taxes and spending. If they didn’t, more than $500 billion in tax increases would hit the economy in 2013 alone, along with $109 billion in cuts from the military and domestic spending programs. The sharp tax hikes and spending cut would threaten to send the economy over the cliff and back into recession. But negotiations to avert catastrophe have highlighted once again how far apart the two parties are on taxes (Republicans don’t want to raise them) and spending (Democrats are reluctant to cut government programs).—AP

WASHINGTON: The United States averted economic calamity yesterday when lawmakers approved a deal to prevent huge tax hikes and spending cuts that would have pushed the world’s largest economy off a “fiscal cliff” and into recession. The agreement hands a clear victory to President Barack Obama, who won reelection on a promise to address budget woes in part by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. His Republican antagonists were forced to vote against a core tenet of their antitax conservative faith.

The deal also resolves, for now, the question of whether Washington can overcome deep ideological differences to avoid harming an economy that is only now beginning to pick up steam after the deepest recession in 80 years.

Consumers, businesses and financial markets have been rattled by the months of budget brinkmanship. The crisis ended when dozens of Republicans in the House of Representatives buckled and backed tax hikes approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Asian stocks hit a five-month high and the dollar fell as markets welcomed the news.

China’s state news agency Xinhua took a more severe view, warning the United States must get to grips with a budget deficit that threatened not a “fiscal cliff” but a “fiscal abyss”. Most of China’s $3.3 trillion foreign exchange reserves are held in dollars. The vote averted immediate pain like tax hikes for almost all US households, but did nothing to resolve other political showdowns on the budget that loom in coming months. Spending cuts of $109 billion in military and domestic programs were only delayed for two months. Obama urged “a little less drama” when the Congress and White House next address thorny fiscal issues like the government’s rapidly mounting $16 trillion debt load.

There was plenty of drama on the first day of 2013 as lawmakers scrambled to avert the “fiscal cliff” of across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts that would have punched a $600 billion hole in the economy this year. As the rest of the country celebrated New Year’s Day with parties and college football games, the Senate stayed up past 2 am yesterday and passed the bill by an overwhelming margin of 89 to 8. When they arrived at the Capitol at noon, House Republicans were forced to decide whether to accept a $620 billion tax hike over 10 years on the wealthiest or shoulder the blame for letting the country slip into budget chaos. The Republicans mounted an effort to add hundreds of billions of dollars in spending cuts to the package and spark a confrontation with the Senate.

RELUCTANT REPUBLICANS For a few hours, it looked like Washington would send the country over the fiscal cliff after all, until Republican leaders determined that they did not have the votes for spending cuts. In the end, they reluctantly approved the Senate bill by a bipartisan vote of 257 to 167 and sent it on to Obama to sign into law. “We are ensuring that taxes aren’t increased on 99 percent of our fellow Americans,” said Republican Representative David Dreier of California. The vote underlined the precarious position of House Speaker John Boehner, who will ask his

Republicans to re-elect him speaker on Thursday when a new Congress is sworn in. Boehner backed the bill but most House Republicans, including his top lieutenants, voted against it.

The speaker had sought to negotiate a “grand bargain” with Obama to overhaul the US tax code and rein in health and retirement programs that are due to balloon in coming decades as the population ages. But Boehner could not unite his members behind an alternative to Obama’s tax measures. Income tax rates will now rise on families earning more than $450,000 per year and the amount of deductions they can take to lower their tax bill will be limited. Low temporary rates that have been in place for the past decade will be made permanent for less-affluent taxpayers, along with a

range of targeted tax breaks put in place to fight the 2009 economic downturn.

However, workers will see up to $2,000 more taken out of their paychecks annually with the expiration of a temporary payroll tax cut. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill will increase budget deficits by nearly $4 trillion over the coming 10 years, compared to the budget savings that would occur if the extreme measures of the cliff were to kick in. But the measure will actually save $650 billion during that time period when measured against the tax and spending policies that were in effect on Monday, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, an independent group that has pushed for more aggressive deficit savings.— Reuters

WASHINGTON: A picture of a TV screen shows the C-SPAN channel live transmission from the US House of the Representatives voting for the Tax Relief Extension Act in Washington DC on January 1, 2013. — AFP

Cliff deal looks so-so for US businesses on taxes WASHINGTON: The “fiscal cliff” deal that slowly, painfully took shape in the US Congress in recent days fulfills some of corporate America’s tax policy goals, but leaves others unmet, including a big one - meaningful deficit and debt reduction. The bill, which received final congressional approval late on Tuesday on a 257-167 bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives, would provide businesses with greater tax certainty in the short term. About $46 billion in business tax breaks were included in the compromise, forged by Democratic Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and approved early on Tuesday by the US Senate.

President Barack Obama was expected to sign the bill soon. The legislation contains a long list of tax “extenders,” or temporary tax provisions that will be perpetuated for a year. Some big-ticket items were part of that, including an extension through 2013 of the widely claimed research and development

tax credit. Also included was a provision allowing businesses to write off immediately half the value of new investments, known as 50 percent bonus depreciation. The legislation also includes a wide range of other favors for select industries, including tax breaks for railroad track maintenance, restaurant and retail store improvements, auto racetracks, film and television production, and rum production in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Numerous tax breaks for wind power production and other alternative energy technologies were also included. “This agreement might not be seen as perfect by everyone, but it gives American consumers and businesses the certainty they need to put worries over this issue behind them,” said Matthew Shay, head of the National Retail Federation. Washington’s army of business tax lobbyists need not fear that the bill will leave them with nothing left to do. —Reuters

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

business

Relief as US staves off ‘fiscal cliff’ World stocks jump BANGKOK: World markets registered relief yesterday over the US congressional vote to stop hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and spending cuts that risked plunging the world’s biggest economy into recession. Benchmarks in Australia and Hong Kong boomeranged on the first trading day of the year, just before Congress passed an emergency measure to avert much of the impact of tax-andspending changes that were so steep they were dubbed the “fiscal cliff.”

Asian markets had slipped on Monday, fearing that negotiations over the measure might collapse.

Economists have been warning that the tax increases and spending

cuts could take a chunk out of the US economy; some experts predicted financial markets would plunge unless a clear-cut deal was reached. Instead, markets in Asia and Europe blessed the stopgap measure approved late Tuesday in Washington to retroactively counter some of the “fiscal cliff” effects. The bill Congress passed awaits President Barack Obama’s signature.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shot up 2.9 percent to close at 23,311.89, its highest finish since June 1, 2011.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.2 percent to close at 4,705.90, its strongest finish in 19 months. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.7 percent to 2,031.10. European stocks jumped

shortly after opening. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.6 percent to 5,989.24.

Germany’s DAX advanced 1.7 percent to 7,740.12 and France’s CAC-40 also gained 1.7 percent at 3,701.90.

“People are very relieved this morning because the US is very likely to fix its own problems in the next few days, so investors in Hong Kong are pretty optimistic,” said Jackson Wong, vice president of Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong.

But some analysts said that expectations for a compromise were so low that any deal was viewed as positive.

“Among business leaders, I’m gonna say this deal isn’t enough to move the needle on confidence. It may improve consumer confidence a little, investors

obviously are celebrating a tentative deal but you know how transitory investor confidence can become,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Group. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia posted solid gains.

Markets in Japan and mainland China reopen Friday.

Uncertainty about the outcome of negotiations drove down Asian regional stocks Monday, the last trading day of 2012. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 percent to close at 4,648.90, as investors sold off stocks to lock in profits. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed marginally lower.

Singapore, New Zealand and India also declined. Japan and South Korea were closed. The bill that Congress approved calls for higher taxes on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples, a victory for Obama. Earnings above those amounts would be taxed at a rate of 39.6 percent, up from the current 35 percent.

It also delays for two months $109 billion worth of across-the-board spending cuts that had been set to start affecting the Pentagon and domestic agencies this week. Lorraine Tan, director at Standard & Poor’s equity research in Singapore, said she believes US growth in 2013 will be able to offset the impact of the tax increases and that companies would feel freer to spend now that the US has taken a step back from the edge of the cliff. Companies “can start to move ahead with any expansion plans they may have,” Tan said. “You’ll see some of that pent-up spending in 2013. And I think there’s a lot of relief related to that.”

Even if Washington bypasses the fiscal cliff, the next crisis is just around the corner, in late February or early March, when the government reaches a $16.4 trillion ceiling on the amount of money it can borrow. Republicans say they won’t go along with raising the limit on government borrowing unless the increase is matched by spending cuts to help attack longterm debt. Failing to raise the debt ceiling could lead to a first-ever US default that could roil financial markets and shake worldwide confidence in the United States.

“Republicans vow not to raise the limit without sharp cuts in spending and Obama vows not to cut spending without further tax hikes. Two more months of shenanigans and waffling /

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: A display hangs at the trade room of the stock exchange in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany yesterday. World stock markets surged, making a bright start to 2013, after the United States clinched a deal to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” of drastic tax rises and automatic spending cuts. — AFP seasick markets? It certainly looks that makers agreed to a Jan 1, 2013 deadway,” analysts at DBS Bank Ltd. in line to reach a deal over taxes and Singapore said in a market commen- spending. If there was no agreement, tary. US stocks shot higher Monday on more than $500 billion in tax increases the belief that lawmakers would work would hit the economy in 2013 alone, out a deal. The Dow Jones industrial along with $109 billion in cuts from average rose 1.3 percent to 13,104.14. the military and domestic spending The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 1.7 programs - hence the fiscal cliff. After a percent to 1,426.19. The Nasdaq com- fight over raising the debt limit last posite index rose 2 percent to year, the credit rating agency 3,019.51. Political gridlock has been Standard & Poor’s took the unprecerattling US markets and shaking con- dented step of lowering the US govsumer and business confidence the ernment’s AAA bond rating because of past two years. To end a 2011 standoff the lack of a credible plan to reduce over raising the federal debt limit, law- the federal government’s debt. — AP

Gold hits 2-week peak LONDON: Gold rose to a two-week high yesterday in line with other commodities and stock markets after the US Congress finally passed a bill fending off huge tax hikes and spending cuts that threatened to jeopardize economic growth. The United States averted economic calamity on Tuesday when lawmakers approved a deal to prevent the tax hikes and spending cuts that would have pushed the world’s largest economy off a so-called “fiscal cliff” and into recession.

Gold touched a two-week peak of $1,685.90 before slipping slightly to stand up $10.96 at $1,685.5 per ounce at 1219 GMT. US gold for February rose $10.20 an ounce to $1,686.00 an ounce. The long-awaited deal to avoid a US fiscal crisis prompted a broad global market rally yesterday, with shares and commodities rising sharply while the dollar and safe-haven government bonds fell. “Gold will be benefiting from an anticipation that the dollar will weaken as risky assets go up,” said Nic Brown, analyst with Natixis. A softer dollar boosts commodities priced in the greenback by making them cheaper for holders of other currencies.

An agreement on the US budget can be viewed as a positive for riskier currencies such as the euro and Australian dollar, while a deadlock into the New Year would have been deemed positive for the safe-haven and highly liquid dollar.

Gold is traditionally an inflation hedge and a market that investors rush to in times of trouble, but the metal has lately behaved more like an industrial commodity - rising and falling with the stock market and sometimes even following the dollar. Saxo Bank vice president Ole Hansen said that if gold closes above a current resistance level of around $1,685, the metal could attract more speculative buying, with $1,721 in sight.

Gold ended up around 7 percent in 2012, the twelfth

straight year of gains. However, it recorded a soft final quarter to the year, falling 5.4 percent, its worst quarterly performance since the July to September period of 2008. Its struggle to maintain traction has dented some investors’ confidence in the metal, curbing a stronger move in prices.

“The temporary resolution of the fiscal cliff problem, coupled with some New Year zeal, will push prices higher to start with, but overall nothing has really changed from this time a week ago, or a month ago,” Marex Spectron said in a note. “As such, the markets will remain slightly moribund and rangebound between $1,650 and $1,700 for the time being.”

INDIAN IMPORTS Indian gold futures extended gains to their highest in two weeks after the finance minister hinted at making imports of the metal more expensive, triggering speculative buying from physical traders. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said yesterday that India was considering raising the cost of gold imports in a bid to control a record high current account deficit that could further dent shipments to the world’s biggest buyer of the metal.

Egyptian customs have stopped a Centamin shipment of gold held at Cairo airport from being exported because it did not obtain approval from the ministry of petroleum, a customs official told the state news agency MENA yesterday. Among other precious metals, silver was up 2.01 percent to $30.89 an ounce, while platinum firmed 1.66 percent to $1,560.49 and palladium rose 2.31 percent to $708.00 an ounce. Platinum ended 2012 up around 10 percent, mainly driven by concerns about widespread miner strikes in top producer South Africa. Platinum is used as an auto catalyst. — Reuters

Crude hits 4-week high above $112 LONDON: Brent crude oil hit a one-month high above $112 per barrel yesterday after the US Congress approved a deal to avert a fiscal crisis, while promising data from top energy consumer China also supported prices. The United States averted economic calamity when lawmakers approved a deal preventing huge tax hikes and spending cuts that would have pushed the world’s largest economy off the “fiscal cliff” into recession. The deal boosted investors’ appetite for riskier assets and depressed the US dollar against major currencies. A weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated oil more affordable for holders of other currencies.

Brent rose $1.00 to $112.11, its highest since Dec 3, before easing back to trade around $111.75 by 1035 GMT. Brent averaged more than $111.65 per barrel last year, the highest annual average on record, after geopolitical threats to production offset worries about flagging oil demand. US crude was up 90 cents to $92.72 a barrel, after rising earlier to $92.85, the highest since October.

“The US fiscal deal has been very positive for markets, which can now look forward to a better year ahead,” said Eugen Weinberg, global head of commodities research at Germany’s Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “A combination of US monetary stimulus and Chinese growth should be very positive for commodities in 2013.”

CHINA RECOVERY Oil found support from robust Chinese data pointing

to a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy and second-biggest oil consumer. China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index held steady in December at 50.6, adding to evidence that its economy was picking up in the last three months of 2012 after slowing for seven straight quarters.

Middle East tensions are likely to help support oil. Iran is carrying out naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, showcasing its military capability in the shipping route through which 40 percent of the world’s sea-borne oil exports pass. The Islamic Republic has threatened to block Hormuz if it comes under military attack over its disputed nuclear program. The United States has said it would not tolerate any obstruction of commercial traffic through the strait.

But analysts say some oil market fundamentals are bearish. The oil market is well supplied and global inventory levels are high. US oil production, in particular, is increasing more quickly than oil demand is rising in the industrialized world, and the market is being balanced by key Middle East producers. “The firmness of Brent in 2013 will depend very much on the supply policies of Saudi Arabia as it battles the crude oil supply push from the United States,” Olivier Jakob, Swiss-based energy market consultant, said. “To defend $100 Brent, Saudi Arabia will have to reduce its crude oil exports to sufficiently offset the new oil coming out of Iraq and of the United States.” — Reuters

THURSDAY, JANUARAY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

Pakistan offers to insure foreign businessmen ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is offering to insure foreign businessmen to attract overseas investment to a country where thousands have been killed by Taleban and Al-Qaeda-linked violence, officials said yesterday.

A series of wealthy countries, including Australia, Britain and the United States, advise against nonessential travel to Pakistan and this makes insurance unavailable or very expensive for citizens who wish to visit. Islamabad says more than 35,000 people have been killed as a result of terrorism in the country since the 9/11 attacks on the United States. But the government hopes that by offering insurance to foreigners invited to Pakistan on business, it can help revive the flagging economy.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the Pakistani central bank’s foreign exchange reserves declined to under $10 billion in October and the deficit, excluding grants, hit 8.5 percent of gross domestic product last year. “Any private or public entrepreneur inviting foreign businessmen or investors will now be responsible for providing insur-

ance cover to their guests through the National Insurance Company (NIC),” said commerce ministry spokesman Abdul Kabir Kazi. “We have launched the scheme immediately and asked the foreign office to dish out information about the scheme to all Pakistani missions abroad to benefit foreign investors and businessmen,” he said.

Nazim Latif, pointman for the scheme, said businessmen can be insured for $200,000, $300,000 or $500,000, depending on their length of stay. “The premium for the above products will be $75, $150 and $225 respectively if a buyer stays in Pakistan for a week; and $250, $350 and $500 for a stay beyond a month,” he said. In the event of death, the NIC will pay out the full compensation and in case of injury, $6,000, $7,000 or $8,500 per week for medical treatment.

“Normally, foreigners hesitate to visit Pakistan in business deals because of the law and order situation in the country. We are introducing this scheme as a tool to offer them peace of mind when they come to our country,” Latif said. — AFP

KARACHI: Pakistani stockbrokers monitor share prices on a digital board during a trading session at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) in Karachi yesterday. The benchmark KSE-100 index was 16447.21, down 347.66 points in mid of the day’s session. — AFP

Rosneft lifts Russian output to new high Daily gas production up 10.4%

LONDON: A protester holds flyers during a demonstration against a hike in rail fares at Kings Cross station in central London yesterday. Rail commuters were hit with an average 4.2% fare rise as an increase in season ticket rates announced in August 2012 came into effect. — AFP

Britain’s factory activity unexpectedly rebounds Manufacturing PMI 15-month high LONDON: British factory activity jumped unexpectedly in December to grow at its fastest pace since September 2011, a survey showed yesterday, raising the chance that the economy eked out growth at the end of 2012. The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a 15-month high of 51.4 in December from an upwardly revised 49.2 in November - a far stronger increase than any predicted in a Reuters poll of 24 economists.

Britain’s economy is forecast to shrink 0.1 percent in the last three months of 2012. But following stronger-than-expected official services sector data last month, yesterday’s figures boost prospects that the economy can avoid slipping into its third period of contraction since the 2008 financial crisis.

The upturn in the manufacturing index takes it above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction for the first time since March, and breaks with poor official data, which showed a 1.3 percent fall in factory output for October.

Weak PMI figures for October and November mean the manufacturing sector probably still contracted in the fourth quarter as a whole, Markit said, but the drag on overall economic output should be less than previously feared. “It was a pleasant start to the New Year and I think it’s justified,” said Alan Clarke, UK economist at Scotiabank. “There’s probably further improvement ahead and it will be a less negative start to the year than what we’ve had of late.”

Markit said the gain was largely driven by domestic demand, and the figures contrast with a move deeper into contractionary territory in the survey’s euro zone equivalent, also released yesterday. Ten-year British government bond prices fell after the data, as it encouraged investors to pursue a move into riskier assets which started after a US budget deal, driving British share prices to their highest level since July last year. Ten-year gilt yields rose to a twoweek high of 1.969 percent after the data, and gilts underperformed German debt.

SLUGGISH OUTLOOK However, Britain’s economy is still forecast to grow by just over 1 percent this year - about half its long-run average growth rate - and economists warned against drawing too many conclusions from the survey. “The sector seems to be showing some signs of improvement probably as the euro zone crisis is easing a little bit and Chinese growth is bottoming out,” said Rob Wood, an economist at Berenberg Bank.

“But the big picture is that the UK economy has been bouncing along the bottom over the last year,” he added. “Today’s figures point to stabilization rather than a return to growth.”

Manufacturing makes up just 10 percent of British output, so construction and services PMIs due today and tomorrow will give a stronger guide to the health of the economy as a whole. Nonetheless, the output component of the manufacturing PMI rose to 54.0 in December, its highest level since April 2011, from 50.5 in November. New orders rose at the fastest rate since March 2011, driven by domestic demand, while export orders fell, albeit at the slowest pace since September.

“Business confidence ... remains fragile and could easily be derailed by setbacks in key export markets, notably any resurgence of the euro zone debt crisis,” said Rob Dobson, the Markit economist who compiled the survey.

Britain’s economy also faces headwinds from a long-term government austerity program and inflation that has proven slower to fall than the Bank of England has forecast, eating into consumers’ spending power.

Yesterday’s data showed continued price pressures on manufacturers, whose costs rose at the fastest rate since March, driven by chemicals, energy, food products and plastics. Manufacturers in turn raised the prices they charged at the fastest rate since April. Employment in the sector fell marginally, showing the smallest decline since August.— Reuters

Housing and jobs may lift S&P toward record NEW YORK: It may be a big if, but assuming Washington lawmakers can get past the “fiscal cliff,” many analysts say that the outlook for stocks next year is good, as a recovering housing market and an improving jobs outlook helps the economy maintain a slow, but steady recovery. An advance of 10 percent in 2013 would send the S&P 500 toward, and possibly past, its record close of 1,565 reached in October 2007.

A mid-year rally in 2012 pushed stocks to their highest in more than four years. Both the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average gained in 2012.

Those advances came despite uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election and bouts of turmoil from Europe, where policy makers finally appear to be getting a grip on the region’s debt crisis. “As you remove little bits of uncertainty, investors can then once again return to focusing on the fundamentals,” says Joseph Tanious, a global market strategist at JP Morgan Funds. “Corporate America is actually doing quite well.”

Although earnings growth of S&P 500 listed companies dipped as low as 0.8 percent in the summer, analysts are predicting that it will rebound to average 9.5 percent

for 2013, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. Companies have also been hoarding cash. The amount of cash and cash-equivalents being held by companies listed in the S&P 500 climbed to an all-time high $1 trillion at the end of September, 65 percent more than five years ago, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

By the time trading ended Monday, Republicans and Democrats still hadn’t reached a budget compromise - but investors were betting that they would - after President Barack Obama said that a compromise was “within sight,” but not finalized.

Without a budget agreement, millions of Americans face the prospect of higher taxes and the government would be forced to slash spending, measures that would probably push the economy into recession, economists say. Assuming a budget deal is reached in a reasonable amount of time, investors will be more comfortable owning stocks in 2013, allowing valuations to rise, says Tanious.

Stocks in the S&P 500 index are currently trading on a price-to-earnings multiple of about 13.5, compared with the average of 17.9 since 1988, according to S&P Capital IQ data. A lower-than-average ration suggests that stocks are cheap.—AP

MOSCOW: More crude from state-owned top producer Rosneft kept Russian oil output the highest in the world last year, ahead of Saudi Arabia, Energy Ministry data showed yesterday. Crude output edged up almost 1 percent to a new postSoviet high of 10.37 million barrels per day (bpd), but the increase could halt this year due to depleted oil fields in West Siberia. Russia, whose proceeds from oil gas constitute around half of budget revenues, aims to keep its crude production at no less than 10 million bpd until 2020.

The Kremlin has increased its share in the oil industry to over 50 percent after top oil producer Rosneft clinched an agreement to acquire AngloRussian TNK-BP for around $55 billion in a cashand-stock deal. After the acquisition, expected to be completed in the first half of this year, Rosneft will become the world’s largest listed oil producer with hydrocarbon output of some 4.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. In tons, Russia’s crude production was 518.018 million last year, the ministry said, up from 511.432 million tons in 2011, which was one day shorter than 2012. In December, Russia’s oil production edged down to 10.48 million bpd from 10.50 million in November, a post-Soviet high.

Rosneft reported one of the largest rises in crude output among the Russian oil majors last year, with an increase of 2.3 percent to 117.473 million tons (2.4 million bpd) on a daily basis thanks to increased production at its East Siberia’s Vankor field to 367,000 bpd. LUKOIL, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, saw a 1 percent decline in domestic output, to 84.620 million tons. LUKOIL has tried to increase its exposure to overseas oil deposits as it has been unable to offset a production decline at its mature West Siberian oilfields. It owns 75 percent of Iraq’s

huge West Qurna-2 deposit. Saudi Arabia has restrained its output to steady oil prices, which reached a record high last year.

Brent crude averaged over $111 a barrel in 2012, the highest on record. The international benchmark gained 3.5 percent for the year, after rising 13.3 percent in 2011. The windfall has helped oil production in Russia, where the extent of the crude output rise surprised many analysts.

Moscow hopes the momentum will continue with so-called tight oil, hidden in layers of rock.

However Russia has yet to follow the United States in deploying advanced horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies, which is known as fracking, on a commercial scale. Last month, Rosneft has agreed with ExxonMobil to tap the shale oil in West Siberia.

DECLINE IN 2013?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects non-OPEC supplies to grow by 900,000 bpd to 54.17 million bpd in 2013, taking total consumption up to an average of 90.52 million bpd, while production in Russia will decline. “We expect Russia’s crude production to be lower by around 100,000 barrels per day in 2013 mainly because brownfield production declines should outpace greenfield supply growth,” IEA’s supply analyst Michael Cohen told Reuters. Brownfield, or established, oil production in Russia accounts for over 80 percent of total output.

Vienna-based JBC energy consultancy expects Russian oil production to remain flat this year.

“We see Russian total oil output virtually unchanged this year as more widespread EOR (enhanced oil recovery) application and an increase in output in recently developed fields compensate for the declines in the mature fields,”

it said. The far-flung deposits of East Siberia are viewed as vital in offsetting declining production in West Siberia. Last month, Russia completed an expansion of its Asian oil pipeline to the Pacific port of Kozmino, filled by crude from East Siberia.

Russia has been steadily increasing its crude exports to Asia at the expense of deliveries to Europe. It shipped 16.3 million tons to Kozmino this year, 1.1 million up compared to 2011. Next year, exports via Kozmino will rise further, to around 21-22 million tons. The ministry data also showed that Russia’s total oil exports via oil pipeline monopoly Transneft and other routes edged down 0.3 percent to 234.3 million tons last year. The oil resources at Russia’s offshore fields estimated at 100 billion tons of oil equivalent are also seen as the next source of domestic oil production. Most are in the Arctic where only state-owned companies, such as Rosneft, have access.

GAS PRODUCTION Daily gas production jumped 10.4 percent, month-on-month, to 2.12 billion cubic metres (bcm) in December thanks to a rise in seasonal demand. Production for 2012 declined to 1.79 bcm from 1.84 bcm in 2011 on a daily basis. Gas output from Gazprom, the world’s leading producer, decreased in 2012 to 1.31 bcm a day from 1.4 bcm in 2011 as Europeans used cheaper alternatives such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and spot market supplies. Output at Russia’s secondlargest gas producer, Novatek , fell to 51 bcm from 53.3 bcm in 2011. The ministry expected gas production to increase in 2013 to 1.87 bcm a day, or a total 683 bcm, although a 1.2 percent lower than previously seen. The data for 2012 gas exports was not yet available. — Reuters

Drifting Shell drilling rig grounds on rocks ANCHORAGE: An oil drilling rig owned by Royal Dutch Shell Plc ran aground in Alaska after drifting in stormy weather, highlighting the serious risks of working in an offshore region where some in the industry see huge potential. While the US Coast Guard was concerned about a potential spill from the drillship, named the Kulluk, its hull appeared sound after a few overflights on Tuesday, officials said. Coast Guard Captain Paul Mehler said the Kulluk had 143,000 gallons of ultra-low-sulfur diesel and 12,000 gallons of other oil products on board. The grounding of the drillship, weighing nearly 28,000 gross tons and operated by Noble Corp, is a blow to Shell’s $4.5 billion offshore program in Alaska. The rig had been headed to Puget Sound for maintenance and upgrades when it broke away from one of its tow lines on Monday afternoon and was driven to rocks just off Kodiak Island that night. The 18-member crew had already been evacuated by the Coast Guard on Saturday because of risks from the storm. With winds reported at up to 60 miles an hour and Gulf of Alaska seas of up to 35 feet (11 m), responders were unable to keep the ship from grounding, the Coast Guard said.

Sean Churchfield, operations manager for Shell Alaska, could not explain why the Kulluk had been caught in the weather. “I can’t give you a specific answer, but I do not believe we would want to tow it in these sorts of conditions.”

The rig was upright and rocking with a slow motion but stable, and Churchfield said there was still plenty of work to bring the incident to a safe conclusion. The leading Democrat on the US House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee, Ed Markey, of Massachusetts, said the incident and others illustrated the perils of drilling offshore in the area. “Oil companies cannot currently drill safely in the foreboding conditions of the Arctic, and drilling expansion could prove disastrous for this sensitive environment,” he said.

TRULY CHALLENGING Susan Childs, emergency incident commander for Shell, believed that a significant spill was unlikely because of the Kulluk’s design, with diesel fuel tanks isolated in the center of the vessel and encased in very heavy steel. Shell is waiting for weather to moderate to begin a complete assessment of the Kulluk. The Anglo-Dutch company’s drilling plans had already alarmed environmentalists and locals, who believe the program threatens a fragile region. “Shell and its contractors are no match for Alaska’s weather and sea conditions either during drilling operations or during transit,” Lois Epstein, Arctic program director for The Wilderness Society, said in an email, calling for an end to Shell’s “costly drilling experiment in the Arctic Ocean.” Rick Steiner, a former University of Alaska marine biology professor and an Alaska environmental activist, said the risks of going through the Gulf of Alaska were underestimated, though companies had to move equipment that way to reach Arctic waters. Unlike Prince William Sound, where a system with 11 powerful escort and rescue tugs was established after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Island region has no high-powered tugs, he said. A similar accident could happen with any of the 20 large ships heading through the area every day on the cargo route between Asia and North America, he said, though he faulted Shell for failing to anchor the drillship days ago when there was notice that high winds were coming. —Reuters

SINGAPORE: A woman walks up a set of steps towards a clothing store in Singapore yesterday. Singapore’s economy grew in the fourth quarter, avoiding a technical recession despite disappointing growth figures for 2012, government data showed on January 2. — AFP

Singapore escapes technical recession SINGAPORE: Singapore escaped a technical recession after the economy grew in the fourth quarter thanks to a boost from services, government data showed yesterday, but prospects for 2013 remain gloomy. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by an estimated 1.1 percent year-onyear in the three months to December, from zero growth in the previous quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said.

Analysts feared the economy may have slipped into a technical recession-two successive quarters of contraction-after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday that GDP rose a mere 1.2 percent for the full year, below the government’s target of 1.5-2.5 percent. Lee also said GDP was expected to grow just 1.0-3.0 percent in 2013. “The prospects remain subdued for Singapore even though we averted a technical recession, and the weakness in the manufacturing sector underscores that vulnerability,” said regional economist Song Seng Wun of CIMB Research. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy expanded by a seasonally adjusted annualized 1.8 percent in the December quarter, reversing a 6.3 percent contraction in the July-September period. Weakness in the manufacturing sector was a major drag for the economy, but a resilient services sector took up some of the slack. “Growth picked up on the back of firmer service sector activity, outweighing a contraction in the manufacturing sector led by a

weak electronics cluster,” said Leif Eskesen, chief economist for India and Southeast Asia at global banking giant HSBC. “The positive impetus primarily came from wholesale and retail, finance and insurance, as well as ‘other’ services,” he said in a market commentary. Nomura Securities said in a market note that manufacturing “remains the weak spot” for the trade-driven economy.

Manufacturing shrank by an annualized 10.8 percent quarter-on-quarter in the OctoberDecember period as the European debt crisis and the sluggish US economy dampened global demand for Singapore’s exports, especially electronics. The sector contracted by 0.2 percent in 2012.

The services sector rebounded strongly in the final three months of last year, rising 7.0 percent quarter-on-quarter from negative growth in the previous two quarters. Overall, the services sector expanded 1.2 percent in 2012.

Construction contracted 8.9 percent quarter-onquarter but grew 8.8 percent for the full year.

Despite Singapore escaping a technical recession, there was little to cheer about as growth was expected to be soft in the coming months.

“With global headwinds expected to remain in place, growth is projected to remain muted in the coming quarters and not recover more noticeably until the second half of 2013,” said Eskesen. — AFP

26

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

BUSINESS

Bentley unveils performance flagship convertible Fastest four-seat convertible in the world KUWAIT: The Continental GT Speed Convertible, Bentleyís new open-top performance flagship - and the worldís fastest four-seat convertible - makes its international debut on 14th January at the North American International Auto Show, Detroit. The new GT Speed Convertible combines the sensory pleasures of roof-down luxury touring with the shattering performance of a 625 PS (616 bhp) twin-turbocharged 6.0 liter W12, while delivering a fifteen per cent improvement in fuel efficiency.

The close-ratio eight-speed transmission, uprated and lowered suspension and retuned steering provide exhilarating acceleration and sharp, communicative handling without detriment to the renowned ride comfort of Bentleyís Continental convertible. Permanent allwheel drive ensures optimum traction and power delivery whatever the road conditions. Taking its place at the pinnacle of the Bentley Continental range, the new GT Speed Convertible has a top speed of 202 mph (325 km/h) and in true Bentley style, no compromises have been made in craftsmanship, luxury or refinement to deliver this unrivalled performance.

Subtle sporting design cues include exclusive 21-inch alloy wheels, dark-tint grilles and ërifledí exhaust tail pipes.

Inside its handcrafted cabin, the GT Speed convertible features the Mulliner Driving Specification as standard, blending contemporary luxury with a distinctly sporting character. Commenting on the new Continental GT Speed Convertible, Bentley Chairman and Chief Executive Dr Wolfgang Schreiber said: ìFollowing the recent successful introduction of the GT Speed, the new GT Speed Convertible will appeal to drivers who seek the sensory thrills of the worldís fastest four-seat softtop and the practicality of a year-round grand tourer, together with unrivalled levels of luxury and refinement. It is designed for those who accept no compromise.î POWERTRAIN: 12 CYLINDERS The Continental GT Speed convertible shares its powertrain specification with its Bentley stablemate the GT Speed coupÈ.

The 625 PS (616 bhp) twin-turbocharged, 48-valve, W12 engine powers the new convertible to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.4 s.) and onto a top speed of 202 mph (325 km/h). Nought to 100 mph (160 km/h) is despatched in only 9.7 seconds.

Peak torque - an impressive 800 Nm (590 lb.ft) - is reached at just 2000 revs/min and maintains that level through to 5000 revs/min for effortless, refined performance at all times.

The latest ME17 engine management system, capable of performing 180 million individual calculations per second, provides enhanced turbocharger control and torque management, enhancing driveability. In common with all W12engined models, the GT Speed convertible features an energy recuperation sys-

tem. Together with a close-ratio, quickshifting eight-speed transmission, this has resulted in a 15 per cent improvement in fuel economy and CO2 emissions compared with the first generation Speed, with a commensurate increase in tank range.

The new GT Speed Convertibleís powertrain is even more tractable than its Speed predecessor, and just as fuel-efficient as the new W12 Continental GT. Switching the gear selector to ëSportí mode however demonstrates the dual personality of the new GT Speed convertible, delivering a sharper throttle response, gear-shifting at higher engine speeds and faster ëblock shiftingí (eg 8th direct to 4th gear) for instantly accessible acceleration. The enhanced performance is accentuated by a glorious baritone snarl from the freebreathing exhaust, a thrilling soundtrack to the magnificent powerhouse under the bonnet.

CHASSIS; LOWER, SHARPER With torsional stiffness a class-leading 22,500 Nm/degree, the bodyshell of the Continental GT Speed convertible is exceptionally rigid, laying the perfect foundation for a more engaging driving experience. The aluminium double-wishbone front suspension and trapezoidal multi-link rear setup feature revised air suspension springs and dampers for improved agility and body control with little sacrifice in ride comfort.

The self-leveling system is set 10 mm lower than the 575PS Continental GT convertible. Stiffer suspension bushes ensure sharp, communicative handling, while uprated anti-roll bars optimize the handling balance. The result is improved body control under hard cornering together with greater agility and, because steering plays an essential role in feeding response and grip back to the driver, the Servotronic steering has also been recalibrated for the Speed specification.

The Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system is optimized for the new engine management system to deliver both outstanding safety and greater driver involvement. The ESC system retains the

ìDynamic Modeî setting that allows increased wheel slip at higher speeds, with engine torque reinstated more quickly after a system intervention.

Together, these systems give the keen driver more opportunity to exploit the full potential of the new chassis set-up and higher power output.

EXTERIOR - THE DARKER SIDE From outside, the Continental GT Speed convertible is distinguished by a matrix radiator grille and bumper air intakes in a dark-tint chrome finish. The 21î Speed alloy wheels are unique to this model, and are available in silver or an optional dark tint. Large, elliptical exhaust tailpipes feature a rifled interior, while a further, subtle design touch is revealed when the bonnet is opened the black inlet manifold is unique to the Continental Speed models. As with the GT Speed coupÈ, the winged ëBí badge which crowns the radiator shell is set upon a black enamel background.

The front wings of the GT Speed Convertible are created in superformed aluminium, their seamless form and crisply-defined body creases creating an impression of tension and muscularity.

The 10 mm lower suspension and unique 21î wheels accentuate the wide, low and poised stance. Despite the supercar performance, additional spoil-

ers are unnecessary - the gentle lip on the double-horseshoe bootlid generates all the downforce the GT Speed Convertible needs, even at over 200 mph (325 km/h).

INTERIOR: SUMPTUOUS, EXCLUSIVE LUXURY AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY Inside, exclusive treadplates featuring the ëSpeedí legend welcome you to a four-seat cabin that features the handcraftsmanship of the Mulliner Driving Specification, with its distinctive diamondquilted hide upholstery. For the Continental GT Speed models Bentley offers an exclusive Dark Tint Aluminium ëengine spiní finish, inspired by the dashboards of the Le Mans winning Bentleys of the 1920s. Its understated shade is the perfect complement to the exteriorís dark tint chrome radiator and bumper grilles.

Other optional finishes include the full range of fine wood veneers and a satinfinish Carbon Fibre option for fascia and centre console.

The infotainment system features Bentleyís latest software upgrades, which vary from region to region but include refinements such as point of interest mapping, optional satellite landscape imagery, live traffic data and, where the infrastructure supports it, digital radio. The system features 15 Gigabytes of available music space, as well as the facility to play music

Wanted! Diamond polishers in Israel Diamonds a major economic engine in Israel

RAMAT GAN: Diamond manufacturing is a dwindling trade in Israel. The country has one of the world’s hottest diamond exchanges, but polishers and cutters of the precious stones have been replaced by cheaper workers in newer hubs like India and China. Israel wants to bring them back. To do so, it plans on recruiting a legion of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who because of their dedication to prayer and study, have been unable or unwilling to join the work force, putting a heavy weight on the economy.

The job of a diamond polisher, however, is unique, said Bumi Traub, president of the Israel Diamond Manufacturers Association. It need not disrupt their pious lifestyle. “The profession is fitting. You deal with the rock, and if you need to go pray, no one will bother you,” he said. The door to Traub’s office requires a fingerprint scan. Security is tight in the four-building exchange where annual turnover of trading reaches $25 billion each year. About a third of rough diamonds produced in the world each year pass through the Jewish state and diamonds account for more than a fifth of the country’s industrial exports. It was a natural sector to develop when Israel was founded 64 years ago, since the small stones have been choice merchandise for generations of Jews who had to quickly flee from riots and persecution. The plan to revitalize manufacturing will cost millions of dollars and the diamond sector, for the first time, is turning to the government for help. The government, eager to get as many ultraOrthodox working as possible, is on board.

INDUSTRY TROUBLES The global financial crisis has taken a toll on the diamond trade, and Israel was not spared. Turnover was nearly halved at the outset in 2009, though in 2011 it returned to pre-crisis levels. A smaller drop is again expected for 2012. The damage has been moderate compared to other major hubs such as India, according to Yair Sahar, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange.

“In other centers the leverage was tremendous, as opposed to here where we were much more conservative,” he said, referring to the low level of debt among Israeli firms. “We entered the crisis more prepared, so to speak.” There have, however, been other problems.

The price for raw material has risen faster than that of the final product, eating away at profits. And a money laundering and tax evasion scandal at the start of 2012 scared away some customers. The investigations have ended and, so far, no one has been charged. The diamond trading floor in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel

Aviv, is the biggest in the world. Armed guards escort non-members and on one wall are mug shots of problematic dealers whom customers are urged to avoid.

Diamonds change hands freely across the rows of long dark tables that line the hall. On one side a seller could be local. A buyer across the way could represent some anonymous client on a different continent.

They scrutinize the stones under a magnifying glass, weigh them on sensitive scales and when a deal is reached they say “mazal ubracha”, a Hebrew phrase recognized in centers around the world meaning “luck and blessings”. In 2011, rough diamond imports to Israel topped $4.4 billion and $7.2 billion in polished diamonds were exported. Every second diamond sold in the United States, according to value, came from Israel.

But only $1.5 billion of the stones were cut and polished locally, a much lower percentage than a decade ago. The rest were sent abroad to foreign firms or Israeli-owned factories.

“Once, everyone who sat in this room was a manufacturer,” billionaire dealer Lev Leviev said at the opening of a Gemological Institute of America (GIA) laboratory in September. “There was not a diamantaire who was not a manufacturer, and over the years we lost it.”

Salaries were just too cheap to compete with, he said, first in India, the world’s biggest importer of rough diamonds, and later in China. Israel has subsisted on larger, high-end stones whose owners pay more to have them manufactured close to home. But industry leaders hope to change that, in part because polishers in developing countries are demanding more money.

“I think we are there, more or less. With rocks of one carat plus, I think we are in a place where the (wage) gap doesn’t justify running to manufacture abroad,” said Sahar. The GIA decision to open its lab in Israel was a first step. Manufacturers can now have their diamonds graded and evaluated in Israel rather than sending them to the United States. “It’s critical for the growth, for the international branding of the export business, and we think that we’re a good partner to help the manufacturing grow,” GIA President and CEO Donna Baker told Reuters when the lab opened. By cutting costs and allowing increased turnover, it will add between $30 million and $50 million a year to the industry.

NEW BLOOD At the peak of manufacturing in the 1980s, there were 20,000 people cutting and polishing diamonds in Israel. That has dropped to about 2,000. “There is no

new manpower. Most polishers are 50 years old and up,” said Roy Fuchs, who owns a factory a few minutes walk from the exchange. “If they don’t invest and bring in new blood, there simply won’t be manufacturing.” To make it happen, the industry realizes it needs help, and for the first time, it is looking for assistance.

“It’s not easy. You need cooperation with the government,” said Udi Sheintal, the Israel Diamond Institute’s managing director. “Here in the middle of Ramat Gan, you don’t get incentives. There are only incentives for certain populations, like the haredi.” The term haredi, which in Hebrew means “those who tremble before God”, refers to people who strictly observe Jewish law. They dress in traditional black outfits, the men do not shave their beards and they spend their days in study and prayer. Some 8-10 percent of Israelis are haredi. For the most part they live in insular communities, are exempt from mandatory military service and, according to the Bank of Israel, less than half of ultra-Orthodox men work.

The issue has created a rift in the mostly secular Israeli society and put a strain on an otherwise robust economy. The government has already earmarked $200 million over the next five years to encourage haredi integration in the work force. Many in the new generation of ultra-Orthodox are open to the idea of getting jobs. The key is finding one that fits, said Bezalel Cohen, 38, who has worked for years to promote employment among his fellow haredis. “The diamond industry’s initiative (to hire ultra-Orthodox)has potential to really succeed,” he said. “As long as the pay and training is proper, it should take off.” Aside from helping to pay the salaries for newly hired haredis, the government will offer grants to small exporters and marketing support.

EMPLOYMENT PLAN The Trade Ministry’s diamond controller, Shmuel Mordechai, said the government backs the idea and has funded similar programs in other financial sectors.

It would have helped even earlier, he said, but the diamond industry was never interested. “They lived in their bubble, they said, ‘Don’t bother us, don’t help us’. In recent years, because of difficulties in the industry and because we opened up our tools to them, they understand,” he said. One of the more advanced plans Mordechai described is that of an independent service plant where dealers bring their rough diamonds. Such a plant would cost $1-$2 million and employ 30-40 workers. The government will help recruit the ultraOrthodox. —Reuters

via an iPod, MP3 player, the carís own sixdisc CD changer or SD card.

Flat panel Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR) speakers, which combine the functions of separate tweeter and midrange speakers in one unit, direct the sound with accuracy and provide greater clarity across the audible spectrum. Alternatively, the audiophile Naim for Bentley system, incorporating custom-built speakers and eight individual Digital Sound Processing modes, is available as an option. As a thoughtful touch, the audio balance settings automatically alter when the roof is lowered to compensate for the change in listening environment.

THRILL OF THE OPEN ROAD The new Continental GT Speed Convertible offers the luxury and refinement of a coupÈ yet transforms into a head-turning open tourer at the touch of a button. The four-layer hood ensures high levels of refinement and acoustic insulation. Exhaustively tested in all conditions from -30∞C to +50∞C or more, it resists even monsoon-force rain and maintains comfortable, draft-free warmth even on the coldest days.

Another practical feature, the neck warmer, makes open air driving an appealing and comfortable prospect even on the cooler days of spring and autumn. With the hood down, the Continental GT Speed convertible offers sensational performance with the sensory amplification of open-air motoring. Hood up, itís as practical a yearround proposition as its coupÈ stablemate.

As with every Bentley Continental model, the GT Speed convertible offers the reassuring stability of permanent all-wheel drive, biased 60:40 in favor of the rear so the spirited driver can control the carís line with the throttle. The rear-biased torque split also minimizes understeer during hard cornering while the system varies torque between the front and rear axles for optimum grip in all road and weather conditions. The result is an exhilarating combination of performance and practicality; a Bentley that can tackle sun-drenched boulevard or snowy alpine pass with equal aplomb.

Kuwait Aromatics names members of new board KUWAIT: Kuwait Aromatics Company (KARO) has named the members of its new board of directors. KARO is a joint venture grouping Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC) with 40%, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) with 40%, while Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC) owns the remaining 20%.

Ahmad Al-Jemaz was elected as the new chairman of the board and Jehad Al-Hajji as deputy chairman with the membership of Mutlaq Al-Azmi and Nasser Al-Anzi as representatives of KNPC and PIC, as well as Fuad Akbar representing QPIC. With investments worth over $2 billion, KARO owns aromatics and styrene facilities in Kuwait. Owning 100% of Kuwait Paraxylene Production Company (KPPC) with products including 829,000 metric tons annually (MTA) of Paraxylne, 363,000 MTA of Benzene and 80,000 MTA of Heavy Aromatics. In addition, KARO owns a 57.5% stake in The Kuwait Styrene Company (TKSC) producing 450,000 MTA of Styrene Monomer. EQUATE Petrochemical Company is the single operator of Greater EQUATE, which includes KPPC, TKSC and The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC) under one fully integrated operational umbrella at Kuwait’s Shuaiba Industrial Area.

Established in 1995, EQUATE is an inter-

Ahmad Al Jemaz national joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

CBK partnered with VISA KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait announced that it has partnered with VISA International, the leading global payment technology company to make shopping for CBK visa cardholders during Dubai Shopping Festival a wonder ful experience where customers will have a chance to win the big prize in “WIN THE BIG BOX” campaign, in addition CBK customers can participate in the daily prizes contest that will be held in Dubai mall.

The promotion for VISA card holders will run during Dubai Shopping Festival from 3rd of January to 3rd of February, where CBK customers will be automatically enrolled for the “Big Box prize” every time they make a

transaction using their VISA card anywhere in UAE during DSF, and they can participate in the daily prizes game contest by presenting any single sales receipt of AED 200 or above made by CBK visa card anywhere in UAE to win valuable prizes, moreover, customers can also participate online on facebook, twitter and instagram for a daily prizes for what’s in the box competition, more details to be found on CBK website at www.cbk.com. CBK invite his customers to celebrate DSF and to visit Dubai mall during the festival to ensure a trip full of excitement, fun and prizes, with CBK every time you swipe your card you can be a winner.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

technology

Report links Google, Yahoo to Internet piracy sites LOS ANGELES: Google Inc and Yahoo Inc, two Internet companies that have long cultivated relationships in Hollywood, are nevertheless placing ads on sites that feature pirated movies, TV shows and music, a new report says.

University of Southern California’s Annenberg Innovation Lab ranked Google and Yahoo among the top 10 advertising networks that support major piracy sites around the world, based on the lab’s analysis of online ads that receive the most copyright infringement notices. Google took issue with the report’s findings, calling its conclusion “mistaken.” Yahoo did not respond to requests seeking comment. The report is the first installment of a monthly update

that Innovation Lab Director Jonathan Taplin hopes major brands will use to inform their decisions about online ad spending and steer dollars away from sites that exploit film, television and music.

“Whenever we talk to a brand about the fact that their ads are all over the pirate sites, they’re like, ‘Oh, how did that happen?’” Taplin said. “We thought it would be easier if they knew what ad networks were putting ads on pirate sites — so they could avoid them.”

Annenberg’s Innovation Lab used as its starting point Google’s Transparency Report, which lists the Internet sites receiving the most notices from studios, trade associations and software and

game publishers to remove copyrighted works. Whenever an ad appears on one of these leading pirate sites, the lab uses software to obtain the name of the ad network.

The list of ad networks includes Openx, a Pasadena company that was backed by AOL Ventures and describes itself as a leader in digital and mobile ad technology; Google and its advertising platform, DoubleClick; Yahoo and its ad exchange, Right Media; and Quantcast, a San Francisco firm that also places ads on sites owned by such major media companies as NBCUniversal and Viacom.

“To the extent (the study) suggests that Google ads are a major source of funds for major pirate sites, we believe it

is mistaken,” a Google spokesperson said.

“Over the past several years, we’ve taken a leadership role in this fight. The complexity of online advertising has led some to conclude, incorrectly, that the mere presence of any Google code on a site means financial support from Google.”

Taplin has been an outspoken opponent of Internet piracy since the early 2000s, when he witnessed the toll Internet piracy took on his friend Levon Helm — whom Taplin had befriended in 1969, after graduating from Princeton and going to work as the Band’s tour manager. The late singer and drummer had been able to live off the record royalties from his music until the advent of pirate sites such as LimeWire and Pirate

Bay, Taplin said. But in recent years, despite suffering from throat cancer, Helm was forced to go back on the road to pay his medical bills. Some nights he couldn’t sing more than a single song.

The file-sharing sites were making money selling advertising to fans of the same music, stolen and uploaded to the sites. “All musicians know ... why their incomes have plummeted,” Taplin said.

“Everyone knows piracy has destroyed the music business.”

The failure in Congress of the Hollywood-backed Stop Online Piracy Act, amid protests of censorship, prompted Taplin to attack the financial underpinnings of piracy. Advertising provides about 86 percent of the financing for filesharing sites that feature illegally distributed content, according to a report funded by Google and the Performing Rights Society for Music in Britain.

Brands — particularly those seeking relationships with recording artists to convey a hip image to young music fans — need to be more vigilant about their advertising, said Chris Castle, a music and technology lawyer based in Austin, Texas.

“If you look at IsoHunt right now ... you’ll see advertising from the top brands in the world,” said Castle, referring to a search engine that allows users to find pirated music, movies, games and TV shows online. “These brands are just perpetuating the people who are stealing from (the artist), and making them rich.”

Jeans maker Levi’s took swift action when Taplin presented evidence that the clothing company’s ads had appeared on filesharing sites.

“When our ads were running unbeknownst to us on these pirate sites, we had a serious problem with that,” said Gareth Hornberger, senior manager of global digital marketing for Levi’s. “We reached out to our global ad agency of record, OMD, and immediately had them remove them. ... We made a point, moving forward, that we really need to take steps to avoid having these problems again.” Jean Prewitt, president and chief executive of the Independent Film & Television Alliance, said bringing the brands and ad networks into the conversation about Internet piracy is an important step in repairing the damage caused by illegal online distribution.

“When you start to look at this ad revenue, somebody is making money off this — and it’s not kids in basements,” Prewitt said. “This is an industry that is commercializing the content, but not in any way that contributes to creating that content.”— MCT

SEOUL: This handout photo provided by LG Electronics and taken yesterday shows South Korean models posing with LG Electronics’ new 55-inch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) television in Seoul. — AFP

LG beats rivals in race to sell new OLED TVs Clear images on wafer-thin screens SEOUL: LG Electronics Inc started taking pre-orders yesterday for the world’s first big TVs that use an advanced display technology promising startlingly clear images on wafer-thin screens.

The South Korean company said the 55-inch TVs, which use a technology called “OLED” and have a price tag of 11 million won ($10,335), will be delivered to buyers in its home market next month. The new TVs will be available in North America, Europe and the rest of Asia before the end of March, LG said in a statement.

While LG becomes the world’s first company to bring a big-screen next-generation TV to market, it’s far from clear whether the bet will pay off because of the high cost and difficulties of manufacturing, cutthroat competition from rivals and diminishing returns from incremental increases in image quality. TVs using OLEDs, or organic light-emitting diodes, feature images with enhanced clarity, deeper color saturation and sharper contrast than liquid crystal display TVs. The advanced, energy-efficient display technology makes it possible to manufacture thinner televisions: LG’s model is just 4 millimeters thick.

LG’s announcement is the culmination of a race by electronics makers to be the first to deliver the next-generation sets that began in 2007 when Sony Corp. showed off the world’s first OLED TV, which had an 11-inch screen. But the Japanese company failed to follow up with a bigger display. While OLED panels are more widely used in mobile

screens, mass producing large panels is still tough because of technological challenges. Jang Moon-ik, director of LG’s TV business, said in an interview last year that only two companies in the world have a capacity to make large screen OLED TVs: LG and rival South Korean company Samsung Electronics.

Even though LG and Samsung touted OLEDs as the future of television, both failed to deliver them to the market in the fourth quarter of 2012 as promised due to manufacturing challenges.

Samsung declined to comment on the availability of its OLED TVs, saying making perfect products is more important than the launch schedule. Grabbing the title of the first OLED TV maker is much more symbolic than practical because initial production numbers will likely be small.

Manufacturing big-screen new TVs requires billions in investments to upgrade factories. South Korean TV makers hope cutting-edge display technology can help offset falling TV prices and differentiate their products from fastgrowing Chinese rivals.

Japanese companies, which dominated the global TV market before the ascent of Samsung and LG, are struggling to come up with their own next-generation TV sets to avoid falling further behind but don’t have enough cash to invest in new technology. Last year, Sony and Panasonic announced a partnership to jointly produce large OLED panels but have not made any further announcements. — AP

How do I protect my PC against viruses and get rid of them? iruses are not the only forms of malicious code that may invade your system. Worms, Trojans, adware, spyware, key loggers together with viruses form part of malware running in the wild that may seriously harm your system and your data while also hogging system resources, reducing PC performance and Internet bandwidth. Here are seven ways of protecting yourself against malware. ??Today, security threats come in all shapes and sizes and from a variety of sources including software downloads, peer-to-peer networks (eg, Kazaa), floppies, CD or DVDs, emails and their attachments, chat rooms, your colleagues on the network and the Internet in general.??So, how can you protect your system and your data in the midst of so many security threats coming from so many different sources?

V

Malware Everywhere Just imagine, malware has been around for almost 25 years already and, every year, millions of people and businesses lose valuable data to viruses, Trojans, worms and other related malicious code. At times, this data is irrecoverable. The

1. Update your Operating System Regularly The first step to protecting your PC and your valuable data is to ensure that the operating system (OS) is updated with the latest security patches. This is critical as OS manufacturers such as Microsoft Windows update security features of their products continuously to cover any potential and actual loopholes? To check whether you have the latest update, click on the Start Menu->All Programs and select the Windows Update icon: 2. Buy Good Anti-Virus Software Secondly you should have updated anti-virus software running on your system.

Make sure to choose one of the better ones on the market today - a few dollars won’t break you but malware will.

Make sure that the anti-virus software is updated frequently (sometimes even daily if needs be) with fixes to the actual engine and to the database files that contain the latest cures against new viruses, worms and Trojans.

The anti-virus software must have the ability of

about the processes they have running on their computer. This website is a free resource library containing a comprehensive description of over 9000 that may be running on your computer.

Searching for the processes is similar to using a search engine - type in the process name and processlibrary.com returns the full description including information on security threat levels if any and ways on removing the malicious code. If you don’t want to go through the rigmarole of typing in the search, processlibrary.com has an InfoBar which is essentially a plug-in for your Task Manager. You may download this free of charge (not a trial version) from here.

Just click on the i-button next to process and you can pull down information from the Internet regarding the process in question. With the Task Manager and process library data you can identify some of the threats. We say some because the Task Manager does not show you all the processes and dll’s running at any point in time. For that you need a more powerful tool (such as WinTasks, read, WinTasks 5.0 Professional Unplugged - A Tutorial Guide).

4. Use Firewalls on the Internet You should also seriously consider installing firewall software or using the native Windows firewall. ??To activate your Windows Firewall click on your control panel and select Windows Firewall.

Switch the firewall on by ticking the “On” radio button. A good firewall prevents unauthorised use and access to your computer from external sources (e.g. hackers or hijackers) plus giving you additional protection against the more common Trojans and worms. A firewall on its own will not get rid of the virus problem but when used in conjunction with your OS updates, anti-virus software and processlibrary.com information, it will give you deeper system security and protection.

malware toll is not only on your data but also on your system settings and resources, PC performance and Internet connections making it impossible to work or play without adequate protection?

This article is divided into two parts - the first part explains what you should do to protect yourself against viruses, worms, and Trojans, while the second part explains how you can fight spyware and related forms of malware. ??For a full explanation of viruses, Trojans and worms and the damage that may be done to your system read Malware: Wading through the Jargon.

6 Ways of Fighting Viruses, Worms and Trojans

scanning email and files as they are downloaded from the Internet to help prevent malware reaching your system. You should also make sure that the anti-virus software chosen awards you protection while on the Internet.

3. Know your Processes Knowing what is running on your computer will increase your ability to identify potential harmful processes. Call up the Windows Task Manager (press CTRL+ALT+DEL) and familiarise yourself with the processes running at any point in time.

Many are using processlibrary.com to learn

5. Know your Registry The latest statistics show that about 94% of computers have corrupt and possibly harmful files. On average, almost each PC will have about 150+ errors on them due to registry fragmentation, and corrupt, unused, missing, orphaned or obsolete entries. Residual files, unused and undeleted drivers, and corrupt or bad entries in registry settings will quickly litter even the newest of computers. The result. Frequent error messages, slow start-ups, declining and poor performance and registry integrity, unstable and frequent application errors and crashes, and, at times, even an inability to start Windows. Some malware does affect your registry. If you keep your registry clean and know what is inside, you will be in a better position to realize immediately when performance has taken a downturn. We advise you to invest in a good registry cleaner, one that allows you to scan your registry deeply and fix all errors.

Moreover, the cleaner must be able to backup your registry.

6. Backup your data Prevention is better than cure however you may still catch a virus no matter how tight your security is. It is always advisable to backup all your data regularly - at least once a week. And, if you

are a frequent PC user, you should backup your data on a daily basis. Fighting Spyware, Adware and Related Forms of Malware. In some cases, it is not that easy to realize that spyware and related forms of malware are installed on your system. ??For a full explanation of spyware, adware, related forms of malware and the damage that may be done to your system read What are Spyware, Adware, Keyloggers, Diallers and Root Kits. In other cases, you will almost immediately notice changes to your web browser that you didn’t make. These changes include toolbars that you didn’t want installed, different homepage settings or changes to your security settings and favourites list. Other signs of spyware include advert pop-ups which are not related to the website being viewed at the time. Many such adverts usually relate to pornography or emoticons or diet pills and are not displayed as they are usually shown on legitimate adverts. Adverts may also appear when you are not surfing the web.

Spyware is not only annoying but it slows your system performance, causes start-up time to increase, hogs your Internet connection and on occasion will lead to system crashes.

7. Invest in Anti-Spyware Software You should install an anti-spyware software package. There are some good ones on the mar-

ket and many experts go as far as suggesting installing two or three since any single package may not be powerful enough to find all the entries and changes to your registry and other files made by spyware. Such malware is installed like any other application on your system thus leaving traces of itself on the registry files of and other places with your system. Anti-spyware works by looking for these traces and deleting them.???Also beware of what you download from the Internet. Make sure that the sources that you download stuff from are known to you - and even here you have to pay extreme attention. For example, not all companies who claim their software contains adware are really offering adware only! There’s always the possibility that there is spyware disguised in the program.

Make sure that you read privacy policies and license agreements. ??In summary, the seven key components of your security architecture should include: 1 An Updated Operating System, 2. Anti-virus Software, 3 Knowledge of all the Processes Running on Your PC, 4. A Firewall, 5 Registry Cleaner 6 Backup Software, 7 Anti-Spyware. Only in this way can you feel safe that your valuable personal data is secure from prying eyes and malicious intent.—www.uniblue.com

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

Antidepressants don’t increase pregnancy risks 1.79% of mothers exposed to an SSRI had higher rates of stillbirth WASHINGTON: The use of antidepressants during pregnancy is not linked to a higher overall risk of stillbirth and death in newborns, a study said Tuesday, confounding a long-held opposing view of such drugs. The Swedish study of more than 1.6 million births in five Nordic countries included nearly 30,000 women who had filled in a prescription for an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) during pregnancy. The researchers found that the 1.79 percent of mothers exposed to an SSRI had higher rates of stillbirth (4.62 versus 3.69 per 1,000) and postneonatal death (1.38 versus 0.96 per 1,000) than those who did not.

But the slightly higher rates were attributed to

the severity of the underlying psychiatric diseaseusually depression-rather than its treatment.

Cigarette smoking and the mother’s advanced age were also linked to higher deaths. Mothers exposed to an SSRI and those who were not had a similar rate of neonatal death (2.54 versus 2.21 per 1000).

Among the total surveyed group there were 1,633,877 single births, 6,054 stillbirths, 3,609 neonatal deaths and 1,578 postneonatal deaths.

The study “suggests that SSRI use during pregnancy was not associated with increased risks of stillbirth, neonatal death, or postneonatal death,” said authors of the research led by Olof Stephansson of the Karolinska Institutet in

Stockholm. “However, decisions regarding use of SSRIs during pregnancy must take into account other perinatal outcomes and the risks associated with maternal mental illness,” they said.

But a US-based expert expressed concern at the findings, to be published in Wednesday’s edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

“This study looked at information on dispensed drugs, not ingested drugs, and these numbers are often quite different,” Adam Urato, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine, told WebMD medical news. “I don’t find the study results particularly reassuring,” he said. The women included in the study were

from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The data covered different periods from 1996 through 2007.

Researchers obtained information on the use of antidepressants from prescription registries, while patient and medical birth registries provided the data for maternal characteristics, pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Between seven and 19 percent of women suffer from depression during pregnancy, according to background information in the study. The use of SSRIs during pregnancy has long been associated with congenital anomalies, neonatal withdrawal syndrome, and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. — AFP

Amputee a driving force in getting people with disabilities moving

MICHIGAN: Bobbie Squires, of Brighton, holds her 1-day-old baby boy Fischer Squires in her private room at Providence Park Hospital.

MICHIGAN: Artwork that is peaceful, celebrating nature and that is frameless is a backdrop absorbing noise and making the hospital experience better for those at Providence Park Hospital.

New emphasis on patient surveys has some hospitals eager to please DETROIT: At Providence Park Hospital in Novi, Mich, the artwork hanging on the walls isn’t covered with glass, in an effort to absorb noise.

Special air-blowing vests keep patients warm pre-surgery. Private rooms are the norm.

Staffers regularly check in with patients to anticipate their toilet and showering needs to cut down on call-light usage. Patients are given clear discharge instructions. Cleaning is no longer done at night. Patients are taught the difference between “pain-free” and “pain-controlled.”

The reason for these changes at Providence Park and similar ones at other hospitals is to ensure high scores on patient satisfaction surveys, the results of which will affect Medicare reimbursement rates, starting this year. At issue are millions of dollars annually, all the more significant as the industry sees so many other dollars slipping away. In fiscal year 2013, for example, the pot is $964 million, according to the federal government’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Amenities such as free lattes and valet parking are not new to hospitals. They began offering them years ago in a high-stakes fight to lure patients. But what hospitals are doing now is, for the most part, tailored to the survey questions they know patients will be asked.

Noise is a big topic. Providence Park has reduced the number of loud carts pushed along its corridors. Instead, patients get “quiet kits” containing ear plugs and relaxationinducing lavender lotion.

Another survey topic is staff attention.

“Bells and whistles make it a nicer environment for patents, but if you’re not addressing holistic, spiritual care, they’re not going to rate it well,” said Dr Linda Dubay, chief quality officer for St John Providence Health System, which includes Providence Park. “We take these things and focus it up from there in addressing the patients’ needs.”

The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or HCAHPS (pronounced H-caps) — first instituted in 2006 as a 27-question survey for discharged patients-was initially designed to be a comparison tool people could use to choose a hospital. Under the Affordable Care Act, it morphed into a dollars-loaded query in October, the start of the 2013 fiscal year.

January brings five new questions for the survey.

Hospitals are at risk of losing 1 percent of their payouts if they don’t do well on the surveys. That will jump to 2 percent by fiscal year 2017. They have to submit a minimum of 100 surveys. To prevent them from cherry-picking the most favorable replies, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will do quarterly random audits of data. “In the past, hospitals and other providers were paid almost solely based on how much work they did-not on how well they did for patients,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in an email.

“Since the ACA, however, we have a number of programs in place ... that reward hospitals and doctors based on the quality of care they deliver for patients.”

Among the topics in the surveys are: • Nursing and doctor care (Did they treat you

with courtesy and respect and explain things to you clearly?); • The hospital environment (Was your room clean and quiet?); • Pain (Was your pain well-controlled?); • The discharge process.

At Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills, Mich., changes include nurses talking to patients hourly to inquire if they need to use the bathroom and to ensure all personal items such as water, the call button and the phone are within arm’s reach; audio-video relaxation system in patient rooms, and detailed “Passport to Care” discharge packets.

“It’s important to score that well, because that reflects we’re doing the right thing for our patients,” said Kim Guesman, Botsford’s director of nursing services. “We’re not doing it just for the money. We’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”

But others said they aren’t motivated by the Medicare payments to improve patient care. “We don’t frankly respond to changes in reimbursement or other national surveys and comparisons,” said Tom Brisse, executive vice president of operations for Michigan-based Beaumont Health Systems. “We’ve been working for decades to improve patient satisfaction.” He said that less than $3 million is at stake, a tiny portion of the hospital’s $2.2 billion operation.

Rajesh Balkrishnan, a University of Michigan associate professor of pharmacy and public health who has researched patient satisfaction surveys, said this regulatory move is a positive one, citing among other reasons the importance of patient empowerment. “The problem is America is a free-market economy,” he said. “We need to give patients a way to speak on what they think about health care, what works for them, how health care professionals work for them, because those factors go into determining whether treatments are successful.”

• • • • • • • • • • •

About the survey Some questions on the patient survey: How often did nurses listen carefully to you?

After you pressed the call button, how often did you get help as soon as you wanted it?

How often did doctors explain things in a way you could understand?

How often were your room and bathroom kept clean?

How often was the area around your room quiet at night?

How often did the hospital staff do everything they could to help you with your pain?

Did doctors, nurses or other hospital staff talk with you about whether you would have the help you needed when you left the hospital?

Did you get information in writing about what symptoms or health problems to look out for after you left the hospital?

Before giving you any new medicine, how often did hospital staff tell you what the medicine was for?

What number would you use to rate this hospital during your stay? (0-10) Would you recommend this hospital to your friends and family?—MCT

CHICAGO: Army veteran Melissa Stockwell has one strong, healthy leg. The other is a scarred, 6inch stump that she has proudly nicknamed “Little Leg.” She throws birthday parties for this shortened limb, always dresses it in her favorite colorsred, white and blue-and has trouble imagining going through life any other way. “I’ve done more with one leg than I ever could have with two,” she often says.

The first female soldier to lose a limb in Iraq, Stockwell, 32, has managed to turn a traumatic above-the-knee amputation into an uplifting experience, one that motivates people of all abilities. Since the injury, she has shaken hands with presidents, won three consecutive paratriathlon world championships, run marathons, skied down mountains and raced 267 miles across Alaska in the longest wheelchair and handcycle race in the world.

Earlier this month she declared, “I’m going to be an Ironman,” on her blog and signed up for Ironman Arizona, a punishing 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2-mile run.

But Stockwell’s physical feats only partly explain why a company like Trek, which ended its relationship with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, now touts her as one of their “great athletes,” calling her an inspirational role model.

Stockwell also empowers others to become more physically active, healthier and socially connected through her work as a prosthetist, fitting amputees in the US and Guatemala with new limbs. In 2011, she co-founded Dare2Tri, a triathlon training group for people with disabilities, where she works as a coach and mentor, often swimming, biking or running alongside her athletes. Stockwell is also an instrumental part of Blade Runners, a running group for amputees, and is active in organizations ranging from the Wounded Warrior Project to the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

“Melissa understands what her role is on the planet,” said her coach, Stacee Seay, national manager for TrainingBible coaching and the head coach for Dare2Tri. “Her injury does not define her, but it certainly, certainly makes her who she is today. She has taken what has happened to her and turned everything about it into a positive.” “Be known not for what happened to you but what you choose to become,” Stockwell recently typed out on Twitter.

An estimated 25 million Americans have mobility impairment-including 6,144 US troops who have lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are at increased risk of obesity, fatigue, pain and deconditioning on top of their primary disability, said James Rimmer, director of the Lakeshore Foundation/University of Alabama at Birmingham Research Collaborative, a rehabilitative science research program. “This group remains one of the most physically inactive and obese groups in our society,” Rimmer said. Some studies suggest that “disabled people on average spend 18 hours a day sitting down or lying down, and 1 in 6 are completely inactive 24 hours a day,” he said.

Exercise, in addition to building strength and stamina, can also have a powerful psychological effect on those with disabilities. For Stockwell, moving makes her feel whole again.

“Sports are one way for people to develop a sense of worth, give purpose, develop social relationships and give them a sense of drive,” said Marca Bristo, president and CEO of Access Living in Chicago. “They often allow people to travel and do things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.”

Chicago’s Hailey Danisewicz, 21, never thought she’d return to sports after she underwent an above-the-knee amputation at age 14 because of bone cancer. But then she met Stockwell, who helped make and fit her prosthetic leg. “The first time I ran down the hall on her new prosthetic running leg, Melisssa looked at me and said, ‘You’re a natural. You are going to do so great, and big

things are going to happen to you,’” Danisewicz recalled.

“Hearing her-of all people-say that was an empowering moment,” said Danisewicz, who thought of those words whenever she felt frustrated. In October, Danisewicz finished behind Stockwell-now her friend, training partner and mentor-in the world paratriathlon championships in New Zealand. “I knew if she believed in me, I should probably believe in myself,” she said.

Stockwell, the youngest of three girls, has always been passionate about sports, the American flag and her country. “She’d get goose bumps just hearing the national anthem,” said her mother, Marlene Hoffman. A competitive gymnast, diver and pole vaulter during high school in Minnesota, she joined the ROTC while studying communication at the University of Colorado. “She dreams big,” said her sister, Amanda Desnoyers of Atlanta. “She was always extremely positive but even more so now. In the last few years, she’s really come around to be an encourager and a motivator. Some of her best qualities have definitely come out since the accident.”

triathlon-a 1-mile swim, 26-mile bike ride and 6.2mile run-in Chicago, winning her division.

Though only two other above-the-knee amputees competed, they were formidable opponents. One was Stockwell’s role model, Sarah Reinertsen, who in 2005 was the first such amputee to complete the Hawaii Ironman. As a paratriathlete, Stockwell has been unbeatable, winning three consecutive International Triathlon Union Paratriathlon World Championships for her division. She triumphantly crossed the finish line of the New York City Marathon in 2011 on one sound limb and one J-shaped carbon-fiber spring foot, after completing it twice using a hand cycle.

In September, she held her own against ablebodied swimmers, winning her age group in the Big Shoulders 5K open swim in Lake Michigan.

“Melissa knows she has done incredible things, but in her mind there was no real option other than moving on with her life and living it to the best of her ability,” said Dare2Tri Executive Director Keri Shindler, one of Stockwell’s closest friends.

“Sometimes people who have overcome a lot let accolades go to their heads, but the attention has-

CHICAGO: Keri Shindler, from left, Melissa Stockwell and Hailey Danisewicz run down Michigan Avenue to see the Christmas Lights in the morning in downtown. — MCT Stockwell had been in Iraq just three weeks when she lost part of her left leg to a roadside bomb April 13, 2004 — a day she now celebrates as the arrival of Little Leg. A platoon leader and first lieutenant, her convoy had been traveling under a bridge in Baghdad in an unarmored Humvee when she heard a deafening explosion.

Her leg was stinging; when she looked down, she saw a pool of blood where a leg should have been.

Later, once she learned the leg was gone, Stockwell told her dad that she’d be fine; life would go on. She apologized to her mom for making her worry. And she reassured friends that she’d climb mountains. “I remember knowing it would be OK,” she said. “I know that sounds weird, but I knew it would be.” It took Stockwell three months to relearn how to walk using her first prosthetic.

After a year of rehabilitation and recovery from more than a dozen surgeries and complications from infections, she skied on one leg with the Vail Veterans and took up swimming, a sport she could manage without the prosthetic leg.

Four years after the injury, she became the first Iraq War veteran to be selected for the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing when she made the US swim team. She didn’t medal but was deeply honored to be chosen to carry the American flag during the closing ceremonies.

After the Paralympics, Stockwell began biking and running, enjoying the cross training. In 2009, she completed her first full Olympic-distance

CHICAGO: Melissa Stockwell, right, fits a client with her new prosthetic leg, in the Scheck and Siress lab at University of Illinois. —MCT

n’t affected Melissa. She’s still a regular down-toearth person.”

Stockwell isn’t sure how long the Ironman will take-she just knows it will be painful and that she will finish. After that, she plans to start training for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, when triathlon makes its debut as an event. “The long-distance races are brutal on her residual limb; the skin gets pretty torn up inside the socket,” said her boyfriend, Brian Tolsma, who also works as a prosthetist. “Seeing (sores) on her limb make me cringe, but she never lets it slow her down.”

Indeed, Stockwell is usually on the go-and on her feet-from early morning until well into the evening, even though it takes more energy for an amputee to walk and stand. On a recent day, after two morning workouts-a 4.5-mile run and an hourlong exercise class that included barre work, yoga and core strengthening-she headed to work at Scheck and Siress, an orthotic and prosthetics lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

At Scheck and Siress, Stockwell spent most of the afternoon standing, crouching and nimbly moving around to help fit 45-year-old Sue Tinucci with a new leg. Tinucci, of Glendale Heights, Ill, has used a prosthetic leg since losing her real one to cancer at age 10. Inspired by Stockwell, she now wants to try running. “Melissa is not only an amputee but she’s doing all kinds of exciting things,” Tinnuci said during her appointment. “It’s always a challenge to explain to someone how you’re feeling,” she said. “But Melissa knows where I’m coming from.”

Stockwell has advised Tinnuci on everything from how to wear flip-flops to which antiperspirant to use to keep the limb from slipping out of the socket, which often gets sweaty. She encouraged Tinnuci to decorate her new leg with her favorite fabric design or T-shirt. “Everyone one is going to look anyway,” she told her. “It might as well be a cool color.”

The socket of Stockwell’s own kneeless running leg is red and blue with white stars; it draws stares wherever she goes. When Stockwell, Danisewicz and Shindler recently ran down Michigan Avenue at 6 am to look at Christmas lights, nearly everyone they passed did a double take, surprised by the sight of the mechanical legs swinging out to the side. Stockwell doesn’t like to talk while she’s running. But if she’s out in public and in the mood, she’ll make eye contact with people who gaze a little too long and say: “It’s OK. You want to know how I lost my leg?” If she’s in a hurry, she simply looks away. “Kids always want to know, and parents usually try to hush them, almost like they’re embarrassed,” she said. “But the best response a parent could give is: ‘Yes, isn’t that cool? Look what she can do.’”— MCT

H E A LT H & S C I E N C E

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

Brain image study: Fructose may spur overeating OREGON: This is your brain on sugar - for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating.

After drinking a fructose beverage, the brain doesn’t register the feeling of being full as it does when simple glucose is consumed, researchers found. It’s a small study and does not prove that fructose or its relative, high-fructose corn syrup, can cause obesity, but experts say it adds evidence they may play a role. These sugars often are added to processed foods and beverages, and consumption has risen dramatically since the 1970s along with obesity. A third of US children and teens and more than two-thirds of adults are obese or overweight.

All sugars are not equal - even though

they contain the same amount of calories because they are metabolized differently in the body. Table sugar is sucrose, which is half fructose, half glucose. High-fructose corn syrup is 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. Some nutrition experts say this sweetener may pose special risks, but others and the industry reject that claim.

And doctors say we eat too much sugar in all forms.

For the study, scientists used magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, scans to track blood flow in the brain in 20 young, normalweight people before and after they had drinks containing glucose or fructose in two sessions several weeks apart.

Scans showed that drinking glucose “turns off or suppresses the activity of areas of the brain that are critical for reward and desire for food,” said one study leader, Yale

File photo shows high fructose corn syrup is listed as an ingredient on a can of soda in Philadelphia. — AP

University endocrinologist Dr Robert Sherwin. With fructose, “we don’t see those changes,” he said. “As a result, the desire to eat continues - it isn’t turned off.” What’s convincing, said Dr Jonathan Purnell, an endocrinologist at Oregon Health & Science University, is that the imaging results mirrored how hungry the people said they felt, as well as what earlier studies found in animals.

“It implies that fructose, at least with regards to promoting food intake and weight gain, is a bad actor compared to glucose,” said Purnell. He wrote a commentary that appears with the federally funded study in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers now are testing obese people to see if they react the same way to fructose and glucose as the normal-weight people in this study did.

What to do? Cook more at home and limit processed foods containing fructose and high-fructose corn syrup, Purnell suggested.

“Try to avoid the sugar-sweetened beverages. It doesn’t mean you can’t ever have them,” but control their size and how often they are consumed, he said.

A second study in the journal suggests that only severe obesity carries a high death risk - and that a few extra pounds might even provide a survival advantage.

However, independent experts say the methods are too flawed to make those claims.

The study comes from a federal researcher who drew controversy in 2005 with a report that found thin and normalweight people had a slightly higher risk of death than those who were overweight.

Many experts criticized that work, saying the researcher - Katherine Flegal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - painted a misleading picture by including smokers and people with health problems ranging from cancer to heart disease. Those people tend to weigh less and therefore make pudgy people look healthy by comparison.

Flegal’s new analysis bolsters her original one, by assessing nearly 100 other studies covering almost 2.9 million people around the world. She again concludes that very

obese people had the highest risk of death but that overweight people had a 6 percent lower mortality rate than thinner people.

She also concludes that mildly obese people had a death risk similar to that of normal-weight people.

Critics again have focused on her methods. This time, she included people too thin to fit what some consider to be normal weight, which could have taken in people emaciated by cancer or other diseases, as well as smokers with elevated risks of heart disease and cancer. “Some portion of those thin people are actually sick, and sick people tend to die sooner,” said Donald Berry, a biostatistician at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

The problems created by the study’s inclusion of smokers and people with preexisting illness “cannot be ignored,” said Susan Gapstur, vice president of epidemiology for the American Cancer Society. A third critic, Dr Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, was blunter: “This is

an even greater pile of rubbish” than the 2005 study, he said. Willett and others have done research since the 2005 study that found higher death risks from being overweight or obese.

Flegal defended her work. She noted that she used standard categories for weight classes. She said statistical adjustments were made for smokers, who were included to give a more real-world sample.

She also said study participants were not in hospitals or hospices, making it unlikely that large numbers of sick people skewed the results.

“We still have to learn about obesity, including how best to measure it,” Flegal’s boss, CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, said in a written statement. “However, it’s clear that being obese is not healthy - it increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and many other health problems. Small, sustainable increases in physical activity and improvements in nutrition can lead to significant health improvements.” — AP

SAN DIEGO: In this photo provided by the San Diego Zoo, panda cub Xiao Liwu snacks on bamboo following a clean health examination on Tuesday. San Diego Zoo Global, in conjunction with giant panda experts from the People’s Republic of China, continues to work on science-based panda conservation programs at the Zoo and in China. — AP

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THURSDAY, JANUARTY 3, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

IMA launches ‘Vision 2016’ SEND US YOUR INSTAGRAM PICS

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hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful picture? Sharing it with others! Let other people see the way you see Kuwait - through your lens. Friday Times will feature snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If you want to share your Instagram photos, email us at instagram@kuwaittimes.net

Greetings

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r. Hashem Mohammad Ismael (Abu Waleed) received well wishes from family and friends after undergoing a successful knee surgery at AlRazi Hospital recently.

Announcements

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ndian Muslim Association (IMA) organized an interactive program on “Vision 2016” at the International Islamic Charity Organization auditorium, South Surra, near PACI, Kuwait. The program marked the release of a Documentary on “Vision 2016” Program of Human Welfare Foundation, which was released by Chief Guest of the evening, FairozMiller, MD, Gulf Technocrats for Projects Management and Construction. “Vision 2016”, is an ambitious plan to bring about transformation on the social landscape of India. The plan envisages the establishment of multifarious institutions across the country, with a strong human resource of committed volunteers and recognized community leaders.

Program started with the recitation of Holy Quran by Hafiz Owaiz followed by the translation. In a power-point presentation on the Topic “The Changing Scenario of Education and Muslim Responsibilities”, Khalid Mubashir Zafar put forth common problems of Education in India and the solutions.

Speaking elaborately in comparison with the statistics from Sachar Committee report, He emphasized on the various schemes of government on education and how they go unutilized. He applauded the role of NGOs who facilitate the transition of many bright students who go on to achieve greater heights, which are otherwise impossible for them. He concluded congratulating and praising

the efforts of Human Welfare Foundation in this regard.

K K Suhail, Director of Public Relations of Human Welfare Foundation, elaborated on the achievements of Vision - 2016 project so far from 2006 to 2012 emphasized on the efforts that are being made as part of the program to build a society where the Muslims and other deprived communities attain equal standing in economic, social welfare, education and health sectors. Speaking on the 35 minutes documentary released which he has directed also, said it has been prepared by shooting the Vision 2016 sites across northern India. He elaborated the dualism of the propaganda of Indian development and the pathetic condition of North

India. He invited the audience to tour the villages of northern India to see the real picture of India.

There was a Question and Answer Session, where audience interacted with K K Suhail, seeking different details pertaining to the program. Mohammed Aslam, President Indian Muslim Association presided over the function and Sharfuddin Soofi convened the program which was attended by eminent participants from different walks of life.

Tanveer, In charge of Social Service Department of IMA gave an introduction of the activities of IMA Social Service Department and Muzaffar Deshmukh gave vote of thanks. Snacks were served at the end of the program.

Shirva feast

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hirva Welfare Association Kuwait (SWAK) will be celebrating their Shirva Parish feast-2013 here in Kuwait.

On this occasion there will be a mass offered at 9.15 am on February 8, 2013 at the Holy Family Cathedral.

Kuwait and the celebration / get-together with a of variety entertainment programme will he held from 4:30 pm - 9 pm on the same day at the Indian Community School, Salmiya.

SWAK members or their children who would like to participate in the variety entertainment programme and show their talent are requested to contact any of the SWAK committee members listed below to avail the opportunity before January 10, 2013. Likewise if any of members children have excelled in academics or any other extra curricular activities in the past 1 year will be appreciated and hence are requested to inform any of the SWAK committee members listed below before the 10th of January. Last date for enrollment in the talent show is January 15, 2013.

Arabic courses

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WARE will begin Winter 1 Arabic language courses with new textbooks and curricula on from December 2, 2012 until January 24, 2013. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed & courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. For more information or registration, please log-on to our website.

Charity show

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n the occasion of New Year Hangama 2013, which will be held tomorrow from 6:00 pm to 12:00 am at Carmel School, Khaitan. Rak Dance Academy is conducting dance competition in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi. The winners will be rewarded.

Goan Culinary Club

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he Goan Culinary Club - Goa encourages you to log on to their website where you can find a video of Odette and Joe Mascarenhas sharing their thoughts on Goan cuisine. These videos were recorded at the launch of the Goan Culinary Club in Goa on March 3, 2012. Thanks to support from all at the Goan Culinary Club, we have made great progress in six months.

Basketball Academy

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he new Premier Basketball Academy offers coaching and games every Friday and Saturday from 10 am onwards for 6 to 18 year olds, boys and girls.

Located in Bayan Block 7, Masjed Al-Aqsa Street by Abdullah Al-Rujaib High School. Free Basketball and Tee Shirts for all participants, with certificates and special awards on completion of each 6 week course. Qualified and experienced British and American Coaches, Everyone Welcome.

NAFO family get-together

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olden day is arriving for being together with all NAFO families! NAFO Kuwait will conduct ‘Kudumbasangamam 2013’ (family get-together) on Friday, January 04, 2013, at the Indian Community School, Amman Branch from 09.30 am onwards. The event is planned with a gold medal distribution in honoring of students departing for higher studies from NAFO family, felicitation of top achievers among NAFO students in class X examinations 2011-12, and few cultural programs depicts the traditions and cultural heritage of our home land.

NAFO invites the benign presence of all its valued members and their families to this social get-together.

Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: local@kuwaittimes.net Fax: 24835619 / 20

Facile Gathering Held At India International School

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n 19th December, 2012 a special meeting was organized for the staff of India International School. The meeting was presided over by the Chairman, Dr.P.A. Ibrahim, Director Malayil Moosa Koya, Principal F.M. Basheer Ahmed, V.P Narender Kaur, and KG HOS Shifana Muizz respectively.

Programme began with the recitation of Holy Quran by Muneer. Following this Principal F.M. Basheer Ahmed addressed the gathering .In his speech he wholeheartedly welcomed the Chairman P.A. Ibrahim and expressed his gratitude for the latter's presence inspite of his busy schedule.He enlightened every one with a rich profile and spectacular vision and vigor of the Chairman.

A Power Point Presentation

by Sophy John regarding the characteristics of a good teacher proved to be very effective.

Following this Director Malayil Moosa Koya addressed the gathering.Chairman addressed the gathering. In his speech he enlightened everyone with his inspiring thoughts.

The management and staff of India International School deem it a privilege for the presence of the Chairman for spending his valuable time. With his continuous support, India International School would certainty work towards the overall development of students and for the confidence reposed by the parents on us.

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THURSDAY, JANUARTY 3, 2013

W H AT ’ S O N

Embassy Information EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA The Australian Embassy Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department.

All processing of visas and immigration matters in conducted by The Australian Consulate-General in Dubai. Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.com (VFS) immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (Visa Office); Tel: +971 4 355 1958 (VFS) - +971 4 508 7200 (Visa Office); Fax: +971 4 355 0708 (Visa Office). In Kuwait applications can be lodged at the Australian Visa Application Centre 4B 1st Floor, Al-Banwan Building Al-Qibla Area, Ali Al-Salem Street, opposite the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Working hours and days: 09:30 - 17:30; Sunday - Thursday. Or visit their website www.vfs-au-gcc-com for more information. Kuwait citizens can apply for tourist visas on-line at www.immi.gov.au/e visa/e676.htm. � � � ��� � �

Al Rouya Bilingual School kids visit Qadsiya Club

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hildren from Al Rouya Bilingual School visited Qadsiya Sports Club to partricipate in the Porsche Road Safety Program for Schools. All five KG classes enjoyed the opportunity to drive their own Porsche pedal cars around the specially designed road circuit and were introduced to the ‘golden rules of road safety’. The children received gift bags from Program sponsors Porsche Centre Kuwait, Behbehani Motors Company.

TRAVEL IN GROUPS “There is safety in numbers” is not just a cliche. It’s true. Make a point of traveling together with other sisters, whether it’s on public transportation, on campus, in cars, etc.

CHANGE YOUR ROUTE If you’ve taken the same bus, train or highway to get to work or school, change your route. Even if it takes you a little longer, your safety is more important. By changing your route, you can avert possible attacks or harassment from those who know your schedule, method and route of travel well. Please note though that you should avoid short cuts that take you through unfamiliar or unsafe areas.

LOOK CONFIDENT Walk with a straight posture and your arms swinging by your sides. Avoid slouching or walking like a victim. This makes you an easy target for attackers.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT SEAT If you are riding by bus or train, do not sit on the window seat as you may be “blocked in” by a potential assailant.

Always select the seat next to the aisle so that you can quickly leave if necessary. If you are taking public transportation alone after peak hours, sit as close to the driver as possible and/or choose the section of the bus/train that is most crowded. Try to get a seat near the exit as well.

IF YOU ARE DRIVING ALONE Don’t think that if you are in a car, you’re safe. Windows should be up and doors locked even when driving to

avoid unwanted passengers at intersections. When you are walking to your car, always have your keys ready, so that you can quickly get into your car. But don’t just get in right away. Always check your car before entering, especially the back, for any intruders.

will then be able to tell the person to whom you are speaking that you may be in trouble and you may be able to use the weight of the phone as a weapon. The door of a telephone box could be used to wedge in the limbs of the attacker.

NEVER LEAVE DOOR UNLOCKED Even if it means for one minute to drop something off in the mailbox that’s a few feet away. Attackers have been known to lie in wait for such an opportunity.

CHECK BEFORE YOU OPEN Do not open the door to your home without first checking from a window, peephole or by asking and verifying who it is. Instruct children to do the same.

BE CAREFUL IN PARKING LOTS Always be alert in parking lots, especially when it’s dark. Ask someone to escort you to your car. Between cars and inside cars, it’s easy for someone to hide and wait until an unalert person comes along.

REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY If you see people loitering on the streets near your house, call the police on a non emergency number and report it.

IF YOU ARE TRAVELING BY TAXI Always check the identification of the driver (usually located near the visor) and ensure that it matches the driver.

Once inside, don’t sit behind the driver as it may be easy for the driver to lock the rear passenger door. Always choose the adjacent seat . In addition, avoid flagging taxis. Always order taxis so the driver can be traced if something happens.

DON’T USE WALKMAN If you’re used to listening to your walkman while outside, drop this habit, especially in isolated areas. With your walkman on, you cannot hear the approach of a possible attacker.

INVEST IN A CELL PHONE This is an invaluable safety device.

Keep it with you at all times and keep emergency numbers on it. Also, keep it next to your bed before you go to bed at night. Cell phones were first popularized by women as a security device, business people came later.

PARKING TIPS Avoid parking in areas that are not well lit. Where possible, park close to a school or work entrance or in a parking garage that has an attendant. If you see a suspicious person approaching or hanging around near your parked car, turn around and go back to an area where there are other people. Try to get an escort to your car through the campus or job security or local police.

NOTE ‘SAFE HOUSES’ Mentally note houses at intervals on each route you take that can be used as “safe houses” if you are attacked, such as shops or houses that you know to be occupied by a friend or acquaintance.

YOUR WHEREABOUTS Parents, spouses and friends should know where you are going and when you will be back, so that your absence will be noticed. Arrange a call in system with a friend if you live alone, whereby you call when you arrive home.

CALLING FROM PHONE BOOTH After dialing the number you wish to call always turn around so that you have your back to the phone and may see who or what is coming your way. You

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS If you are walking somewhere and feel strange or scared, don’t ignore this feeling. Take extra precautions by walking a little faster to get to a more popu-

lated or well-lit area or change the route you’ve been driving on.

CHANGE ROUTE AND ACTIVITY IF? You can cross the street, change directions, or enter a populated building or store. Do whatever is necessary to avoid being alone with the person who is following you. Inform a police officer or security official about the follower.

ATTRACT ATTENTION IF Get others’ to pay attention to what’s happening to you if you are under attack or being harassed. You can alert others by honking a car horn or loudly describing what is happening.

NEVER ADMIT YOU ARE ALONE If someone calls your home and asks if you are alone, NEVER admit it. Ask who the caller is. If they refuse to identify themselves, calmly hangup. Keep the radio on in the house so that callers will get the impression that others are in the home too. Instruct children to do the same when they pick up the phone.

OBSCENE PHONE CALLS If you receive an obscene call or a crank call, do not talk to the caller. Hang up if the caller doesn’t say anything, or as soon as s/he shouts obscenities. Hang up the phone calmly and do not slam it down. Note down the date and time of the calls. If they are persistent, inform local police.

IF YOU ARE A STUDENT Avoid studying in isolated classrooms in parts of the college campus that are not regularly patrolled by the school’s security officers.

TAKE THE ELEVATOR Stairwells are usually quiet and dark.

Most people take the elevator. But if someone creepy gets on, don’t hesitate to get off at the same time. Or, if someone is already on the elevator who you feel strange about, do not get on and wait for the next elevator. www.islamweb.net

Remote Control: AUK’s Dr Munshi’s new book

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new book, titled ‘Remote Control’: Indian Television in the New Millennium, authored by Dr Shoma Munshi, Professor of Anthropology at the American University of Kuwait (AUK), was released by Penguin Books worldwide in December 2012. The book’s focus is ‘What do the TV shows we’re watching tell us about ourselves?’

Munshi argues that television is the single most powerful and dynamic agent of change in India today. It is also India’s most popular and accessible form of entertainment. The book examines three kinds of programming 24x7 news, soap operas, and reality shows - that have changed Indian television forever, and analyzes how these three genres, while drawing on differ-

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Safety tips for women BE AWARE OF SURROUNDINGS This applies whether you are traveling alone or in groups. Don’t just focus inwardly on your thoughts if you are alone, or your friends if you are together.

Keep one eye out for your environment, looking out for suspicious characters, possible danger, etc. Also, don’t assume that because your area has been “safe” thus far, that it will continue to be so.

EMBASSY OF CANADA he Embassyof Canada in Kuwait does not have a visa or immigration department. All processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. Individuals who are interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada†should contact the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, website: www.UAE.gc.ca†or www.goingtocanada.gc.ca, E-mail: abdbi-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca.

The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. The reception is open from 07:30 to 12:30. Consular services for Canadian citizens are provided from 09:00†until 12:00, Sunday through Wednesday.

ent sources, are hybridized, indigenized and manage to ultimately project a distinctively ‘Indian’ identity. Munshi’s book shows us how everyday reality in India in the twenty-first century shapes television; and how television, in turn, shapes us.

About her new release, Munshi comments, “This is my second single authored monograph since I joined AUK. I am particularly happy since this book is dedicated to my father, Wing Commander Anil Chandra Munshi, who came to Auk several times, and whom I lost two years ago, but my father read through and corrected the first draft of the book manuscript.” Munshi’s book has already garnered extensive advance praise. Sunil Lulla, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the

Times Television Network, states “Shoma’s book captures the rapidly changing pace in the Indian television domain.

Big plots, subtle changes, new scripts, stolen ideas, factual updates, dreams and disrupted plans - all neatly explained. Good if you know nothing about Indian TV. Even better if you think you knew it all.” Professor Dale F Eickelman, Professor of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, USA, and the AUKDartmouth Relationship Coordinator, notes “Remote Control is the authoritative and entertaining story of India’s rapidly evolving and hotly competitive television programming in the twentyfirst century. A must read, it places Indian television on a worldwide stage and is a model for comparable studies

elsewhere.”

Munshi is the author of Prime Time Soap Operas on Indian Television (Routledge, 2010); editor of Images of the ‘Modern Woman’ in Asia: Global Media, Local Meanings (Curzon 2001); and co-editor of Media, War and Terrorism: Responses from the Middle East and Asia (Routledge, 2004, 2006).

She also has several publications in refereed journals. Munshi earned her PhD from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), in Paris, France; and her work experience encompasses the University of Delhi, University of Amsterdam, University of Pennsylvania, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in New Delhi, India, before joining AUK in January 2006.

EMBASSY OF CYPRUS In its capacity as EU Local Presidency in the State of Kuwait, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, on behalf of the Member States of the EU and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, would like to announce that as from 2nd October 2012 all Schengen States’ Consulates in Kuwait will use the Visa Information System (VIS). The VIS is a central database for the exchange of data on short-stay (up to three months) visas between Schengen States. The main objectives of the VIS are to facilitate visa application procedures and checks at external border as well as to enhance security. The VIS will contain all the Schengen visa applications lodged by an applicant over five years and the decisions taken by any Schengen State’s consulate. This will allow applicants to establish more easily the lawful use of previous visas and their bona fide status. For the purpose of the VIS, applicants will be required to provide their biometric data (fingerprints and digital photos) when applying for a Schengen visa. It is a simple and discreet procedure that only takes a few minutes. Biometric data, along with the data provided in the Schengen visa application form, will be recorded in the VIS central database. Therefore, as from 2nd October 2012, first-time applicants will have to appear in person when lodging the application, in order to provide their fingerprints. For subsequent applications within 5 years the fingerprints can be copied from the previous application file in the VIS. The Cypriot Presidency would like to assure the people of Kuwait and all its permanent citizens that the Member States and associated States participating in the Schengen cooperation, have taken all necessary technical measures to facilitate the rapid examination and the efficient processing of visa applications and to ensure a quick and discreet procedure for the implementation of the new VIS. � � � ��� � �

EMBASSY OF KENYA The Embassy of the Republic of Kenya wishes to inform the Kenyan community residents throughout Kuwait and the general public that the Embassy has acquired new office telephone numbers as follows: 25353982, 25353985 - Consular’s enquiries 25353987 - Fax Our Email address: info@kenyaembkuwait.com. � � � ��� � �

EMBASSY OF MYANMAR Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar would like to inform the general public that the Embassy has moved its office to new location at Villa 35, Road 203, Block 2, Al-Salaam Area in South Surra. The Embassy wishes to advice Myanmar citizens and travellers to Myanmar to contact Myanmar Embassy at its new location. Tel. 25240736, 25240290, Fax: 25240749, email:myankuwait11@gmai1.com. � � � ��� � �

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA The Nigerian embassy has its new office in Mishref. Block 3, Street 7, House 4. For enquires please call 25379541. Fax25387719. Email- nigeriakuwait@yahoo.com or nigeriankuwait@yahoo.co.uk. � � � ��� � �

EMBASSY OF PERU The Embassy of Peru is located in Sharq, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Al Arabiya Tower, 6th Floor. Working days / hours: SundayThursday /9 am - 4 pm. Residents in Kuwait interested in getting a visa to travel to Peru and companies attracted to invest in Peru are invited to visit the permanent exposition room located in the Embassy. For more information, please contact: (+965) 22267250/1.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

TV PROGRAMS

00:50 01:45 02:35 03:25 04:15 05:05 05:55 06:20 06:45 07:10 07:35 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:15 10:10 10:35 11:05 12:00 12:25 14:45 15:40 16:35 17:30 18:25 19:20 20:15 20:40 21:10 21:35 22:05 23:00 23:55

Animal Cops Philadelphia Killer Rain Untamed & Uncut Wildest Islands Biggest And Baddest Profiles Of Nature Call Of The Wildman Animal Kingdom SSPCA: On The Wildside SSPCA: On The Wildside Wildlife SOS The Really Wild Show Bondi Vet Bondi Vet Dogs 101 Extraordinary Dogs Extraordinary Dogs Profiles Of Nature Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Dick ‘n’ Dom Go Wild Bad Dog Bad Dog Cats 101 Cats 101 Too Cute!

Too Cute!

Monkey Life Bondi Vet Call Of The Wildman Animal Kingdom Profiles Of Nature Austin Stevens Adventures Into The Lion’s Den

00:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 01:15 Come Dine With Me 02:05 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 02:30 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 02:55 House Swap 03:45 Come Dine With Me 04:35 Antiques Roadshow 05:25 House Swap 06:10 Saturday Kitchen 2008/09 06:35 House Swap 07:20 Bargain Hunt 08:05 Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 08:55 10 Years Younger 09:45 Bargain Hunt 10:30 Antiques Roadshow 11:25 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 12:40 Come Dine With Me 13:30 Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes 14:20 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 15:05 Bargain Hunt 15:50 Antiques Roadshow 16:45 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 18:05 Britain’s Dream Homes 19:00 Eating In The Sun 19:25 Eating In The Sun 19:55 Rhodes Across China 20:45 Come Dine With Me 21:35 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 23:15 Bargain Hunt

00:00 Business Edition With Tanya Beckett 00:30 Hardtalk 01:00 BBC World News America 01:30 BBC World News America 02:00 Newsday 02:30 Asia Business Report 02:45 Sport Today 03:00 Newsday 03:30 Asia Business Report 03:45 Sport Today 04:00 Newsday 04:30 Asia Business Report 04:45 Sport Today 05:00 BBC World News 05:30 Asia Business Report 05:45 Sport Today 06:00 BBC World News 06:30 Asia Business Report 06:45 Sport Today 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 Hardtalk 08:00 BBC World News

08:30 World Business Report 08:45 BBC World News 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 BBC World News 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 World Business Report 10:45 BBC World News 11:00 BBC World News 11:30 World Business Report 11:45 BBC World News 12:00 BBC World News 12:30 Hardtalk 13:00 BBC World News 13:30 World Business Report 13:45 Sport Today 14:00 BBC World News 14:30 BBC World News 15:00 GMT With George Alagiah 15:30 GMT With George Alagiah 16:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 17:30 World Business Report 17:45 Sport Today 18:00 BBC World News 18:30 Hardtalk 19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 19:30 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing 20:30 BBC Focus On Africa 21:00 BBC World News 21:30 World Business Report 21:45 Sport Today 22:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 22:30 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 23:00 World News Today With Zeinab Badawi 23:30 World Business Report 23:45 Sport Today

00:05 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:45 02:10 02:35 03:00 03:25 03:50 04:00 04:30 04:55 05:20 05:45 06:00 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:30 07:55 08:10 08:35 08:50 09:05 09:30 09:55 10:20 10:45 11:10 11:35 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:00 13:15 13:40 13:55 14:20 14:35 14:50 15:20 15:45 16:10 16:35 17:00 17:25 17:50 18:15 18:40 19:05 19:30 19:45 20:00 20:15 20:40 20:55 21:20 21:35

Taz-Mania Pink Panther And Pals Moomins Tom & Jerry Kids A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Puppy In My Pocket Wacky Races Looney Tunes Duck Dodgers Dastardly And Muttley Dexter’s Laboratory Wacky Races Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry The Garfield Show Moomins Looney Tunes Tom & Jerry Tales Dexter’s Laboratory Baby Looney Tunes Jelly Jamm Gerald McBoing Boing Bananas In Pyjamas Ha Ha Hairies Tom & Jerry Kids A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Puppy In My Pocket Wacky Races Looney Tunes Duck Dodgers Popeye Top Cat The Flintstones Dastardly And Muttley Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Bananas In Pyjamas Moomins Dexter’s Laboratory Johnny Bravo Tom & Jerry Pink Panther And Pals The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry Tales The Looney Tunes Show Taz-Mania Pink Panther And Pals Moomins The Garfield Show Ha Ha Hairies Gerald McBoing Boing Jelly Jamm Baby Looney Tunes Cartoonito Tales Puppy In My Pocket

22:00 22:25 22:50 23:15 23:40

The Garfield Show What’s New Scooby Doo? Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries Tom & Jerry Tales The Looney Tunes Show

00:40 Chowder 01:30 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 01:55 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 02:20 Foster’s Home For...

02:45 Foster’s Home For...

03:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 04:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 04:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:50 Adventure Time 05:15 The Powerpuff Girls 05:40 Generator Rex 06:05 Ben 10 06:30 Ben 10 06:55 Angelo Rules 07:00 Casper’s Scare School 07:30 Casper’s Scare School 08:00 Mucha Lucha 08:25 Johnny Test 08:45 Regular Show 09:05 Total Drama Island 09:30 Total Drama Island 09:55 Ben 10: Omniverse 10:20 Young Justice 10:45 Thundercats 11:10 Adventure Time 12:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 12:50 Foster’s Home For...

13:15 Foster’s Home For...

13:40 Courage The Cowardly Dog 14:30 Powerpuff Girls 15:20 Angelo Rules 16:10 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 16:35 Young Justice 17:00 Ben 10: Omniverse 17:20 Johnny Test 18:00 Level Up 18:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 18:50 Adventure Time 19:15 Regular Show 19:40 Mucha Lucha 20:05 Total Drama Island 20:30 Total Drama Island 20:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 21:20 Young Justice 21:45 Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge 22:10 Grim Adventures Of...

23:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:50 The Powerpuff Girls

00:00 Connect The World With Becky Anderson 01:00 Amanpour 01:30 World Sport 02:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 03:00 World Report 03:30 World Sport 04:00 Anderson Cooper 360 05:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 06:00 Quest Means Business 07:00 The Situation Room 08:00 World Sport 08:30 Talk Asia 09:00 World Report 10:00 World Report 11:00 World Sport 11:30 Eco Solutions 12:00 World Business Today 13:00 Amanpour 13:30 Living Golf 14:00 World One 15:00 Piers Morgan Tonight 16:00 News Stream 17:00 World Business Today 18:00 International Desk 19:00 Global Exchange 19:45 CNN Marketplace Middle East 20:00 World Sport 20:30 Living Golf 21:00 International Desk 22:00 Quest Means Business 22:45 CNN Marketplace Europe 23:00 Amanpour 23:30 CNN Newscenter

TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN ON OSN ACTION HD

00:15 00:40 01:10 02:05 03:00 03:55 04:20 04:50 05:15 05:40 06:05 06:35 07:00 07:50 Japan 08:45 09:40 10:05 10:30 10:55 11:25 11:50 12:20 12:45 13:40 14:35 15:05 15:30 16:00 16:55 17:50 18:45 19:10 19:40 20:05 20:35 21:00 21:30 22:25 23:20

Magic Of Science Time Warp Mythbusters Mythbusters Mythbusters Border Security Scrappers Auction Hunters How Stuff’s Made How It’s Made Sons Of Guns Sons Of Guns Mythbusters Megaquake: Hour That Shook

00:00 00:10 00:25 00:35 01:00 01:25 01:50 02:15 02:40 03:05 03:30 03:55 04:20 04:45 05:10 05:35 06:00 06:15 06:40 07:05 07:30 07:55 08:20 08:45 09:10 09:35 10:00 10:25 10:50 11:15 11:25 11:40 12:05 12:15 12:30 12:55 13:20 13:45 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:25 15:45 16:15 16:40 17:00 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:30 20:50 21:15 21:40 22:05 22:15 22:30 22:55 23:20 23:45

Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Fish Hooks Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Brandy & Mr Whiskers Replacements Replacements Emperor’s New School Emperor’s New School Brandy & Mr Whiskers Doc McStuffins Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Jessie Jessie Suite Life On Deck Jessie Jessie Austin And Ally Shake It Up Shake It Up Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Doc McStuffins Doc McStuffins Art Attack Jessie Jessie A.N.T. Farm A.N.T. Farm Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Shake It Up So Random So Random So Random Let It Shine Phineas And Ferb A.N.T. Farm Good Luck Charlie Jessie That’s So Raven Cory In The House Kim Possible Hannah Montana Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Wizards Of Waverly Place Wizards Of Waverly Place Fish Hooks

Dynamo: Magician Impossible Border Security Scrappers Auction Hunters How Stuff’s Made How It’s Made Magic Of Science Time Warp Mythbusters Mythbusters Border Security Scrappers Auction Hunters Airplane Repo Dynamo: Magician Impossible Mythbusters Sons Of Guns Sons Of Guns How Stuff’s Made How It’s Made Scrappers Auction Hunters Sons Of Guns Ross Kemp On Gangs Ross Kemp On Gangs

00:20 Little Einsteins 00:50 Special Agent Oso 01:05 Special Agent Oso 01:15 Lazytown 01:40 Jungle Junction 01:55 Jungle Junction 02:10 Handy Manny 02:20 Handy Manny 02:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 02:55 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 03:00 Lazytown 03:25 Special Agent Oso 03:35 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Imagination Movers 04:15 Handy Manny 04:25 Handy Manny 04:40 Special Agent Oso 04:50 Special Agent Oso 05:00 Timmy Time 05:10 Lazytown 05:35 Little Einsteins 06:00 Jungle Junction 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Little Einsteins 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 Jungle Junction 07:45 Handy Manny 08:00 Special Agent Oso 08:15 Imagination Movers 08:45 Handy Manny 09:00 The Hive 09:10 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:05 Doc McStuffins 10:20 Doc McStuffins 10:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 11:00 Mouk 11:15 Mouk 11:30 Handy Manny 11:45 Art Attack 12:10 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 12:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 13:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship

13:10 Doc McStuffins 13:25 Handy Manny 13:40 Jungle Junction 13:55 Timmy Time 14:05 The Hive 14:15 Mouk 14:30 Mouk 14:45 Timmy Time 14:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:20 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 15:45 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 16:00 The Little Mermaid 16:25 Art Attack 16:55 Imagination Movers 17:20 Handy Manny 17:35 Mouk 17:50 Mouk 18:10 Doc McStuffins 18:25 Doc McStuffins 18:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 18:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:10 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 19:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 20:00 Animated Stories 20:05 Timmy Time 20:15 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 20:25 Doc McStuffins 20:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:10 The Hive 21:20 Timmy Time 21:30 Mouk 21:45 Handy Manny 22:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:25 The Hive 22:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 23:00 Timmy Time 23:10 Animated Stories 23:15 A Poem Is...

23:20 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 23:30 Jungle Junction 23:45 Handy Manny 23:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

SAFE HOUSE ON OSN CINEMA 03:35 Giada’s Italian Holiday 04:25 Kid In A Candy Store 04:50 Unique Sweets 05:15 Charly’s Cake Angels 05:40 Chopped 06:30 Iron Chef America 07:10 Unwrapped 07:35 Unwrapped 08:00 Iron Chef America 08:50 Kid In A Candy Store 09:15 Unwrapped 09:40 United Tastes Of America 10:05 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:30 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:55 Cooking For Real 11:20 Cooking For Real 11:45 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 12:10 United Tastes Of America 12:35 Unwrapped 13:00 Iron Chef America 13:50 Tyler’s Ultimate 14:15 Andy Bates Street Feasts 14:40 Everyday Italian 15:05 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 15:30 Healthy Appetite With Ellie Krieger 15:55 Cooking For Real 16:20 United Tastes Of America 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Kid In A Candy Store 19:40 Tyler’s Ultimate 20:05 Guy’s Big Bite 20:30 Chopped 21:20 Iron Chef America 22:10 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 22:35 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 23:00 Guy’s Big Bite 23:25 Guy’s Big Bite 23:50 Ultimate Recipe Showdown

00:00 00:55 01:25 03:15 03:40 04:10 05:05 06:00 07:50 08:20 09:15 09:45 10:15 12:05 13:05 14:05 York 14:30 York 15:00 15:30 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 21:30 22:30 23:30

Scouted Style Star Too Young To Kill Behind The Scenes Extreme Close-Up THS THS THS Behind The Scenes THS Ice Loves Coco Ice Loves Coco THS Opening Act Opening Act Kourtney & Kim Take New

00:40 01:30 02:20 03:05 03:55 04:45 05:30 06:20 07:10 08:00 08:50 09:15 09:40 10:05 10:30 11:20 12:10 13:00 13:50 14:15

Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab A Haunting Reel Crime/Real Story I Almost Got Away With It Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab A Haunting Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

On The Case With Paula Zahn Murder Shift Disappeared Mystery Diagnosis Street Patrol Street Patrol

Kourtney & Kim Take New Style Star THS Behind The Scenes Married To Jonas Married To Jonas THS THS Giuliana & Bill Married To Jonas Fashion Police THS Chelsea Lately

14:40 15:30 16:20 16:45 17:10 18:00 18:50 19:40 20:05 Jones 20:55 21:20 22:10 23:00 23:25 23:50

Forensic Detectives On The Case With Paula Zahn Real Emergency Calls Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Murder Shift Disappeared Forensic Detectives Street Patrol True Crime With Aphrodite Who On Earth Did I Marry?

Nightmare Next Door Couples Who Kill Great Crimes And Trials Great Crimes And Trials Cuff Me If You Can

00:15 Food School 00:45 Amish: Out of Order 01:40 Meet The Amish 02:35 Bondi Rescue: Bali 03:00 Bondi Rescue 03:30 Bondi Rescue 03:55 Bondi Rescue 04:25 Ultimate Traveller 05:20 Somewhere In China 06:15 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 06:40 Exploring The Vine 07:10 Food School 07:35 Food School 08:05 Amish: Out of Order 09:00 Meet The Amish 09:55 Bondi Rescue: Bali 10:20 Bondi Rescue 10:50 Bondi Rescue 11:15 Bondi Rescue 11:45 Ultimate Traveller 12:40 Nomads 13:35 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 14:00 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 14:30 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 14:55 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 15:25 Amish: Out of Order 16:20 Meet The Natives: USA 17:15 Bondi Rescue 17:40 Bondi Rescue 18:10 Bondi Rescue 18:35 Bondi Rescue 19:05 Ultimate Traveller 20:00 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 20:30 David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway 21:00 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 21:30 Food Lover’s Guide To The Planet 22:00 Somewhere In China 22:55 My Sri Lanka With Peter Kuruvita 23:20 Delinquent Gourmet 23:50 David Rocco‚Äôs Dolce Vita 3

00:00 Fading Of The Cries-18 02:00 The Speak-18 04:00 Restitution-PG15 06:00 Walled In-PG15 08:00 True Justice: Deadly CrossingPG15 10:00 Tank Girl-PG15 12:00 Tomorrow, When The War Began-PG15 14:00 True Justice: Deadly CrossingPG15 16:00 Secret Window-PG15 18:00 Tomorrow, When The War Began-PG15 20:00 The Rite-18 22:00 Deadtime Stories 2-18

01:30 The Warlords-PG15 03:45 Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown-PG 05:00 Kung Fu Dunk-PG15 07:00 A Separation-PG15 09:00 The Warlords-PG15 11:00 Black Forest-PG15 13:00 Blank Slate-PG15 15:00 Riddles Of The Sphinx-PG15 17:00 Win Win-PG15 19:00 The Company Men-PG15 21:00 Safe House-PG15 23:00 The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon

Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia 02:00 The Big C 02:30 Bored To Death 03:00 Two And A Half Men 03:30 Two And A Half Men 04:00 Hope & Faith 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Gary Unmarried 06:00 Samantha Who? 06:30 Seinfeld 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Hope & Faith 08:30 New Girl 09:00 Gary Unmarried 09:30 Samantha Who? 10:00 Melissa & Joey 10:30 The Office 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Seinfeld 12:30 Hope & Faith 13:00 Gary Unmarried 13:30 Samantha Who? 14:00 The Simpsons 14:30 The Office 15:00 Melissa & Joey 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Seinfeld 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 New Girl 18:30 30 Rock 19:00 How I Met Your Mother 19:30 The Office 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 Community 22:30 The Big C 23:00 Weeds 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 01:00 03:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 12:00 12:30 15:00 16:00 16:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 23:00

Grimm Hawthorne Six Feet Under Emmerdale Coronation Street Criminal Minds Emmerdale Coronation Street Parenthood Emmerdale Coronation Street Criminal Minds Touch Top Gear Specials Bunheads Six Feet Under

00:00 02:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Neil Delamere-PG15 Submarine-PG15 Baby Geniuses-PG Robots-PG Last Holiday-PG15 Cheaper By The Dozen-PG Last Holiday-PG15 The Search For Santa Paws-PG The Trip-PG15 Mardi Gras: Spring Break-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 PG15 11:00 13:00 15:00 PG15 17:00 18:45 21:00 23:15

Somewhere-18 Trust-PG15 Le Divorce-PG15 Ice Dreams-PG Sunny And The Elephant-

01:00 02:45 05:00 06:45

Loosies-PG15 The Terminal-PG15 Quest For Zhu-PG Backwash-PG15

Lorenzo’s Oil-PG15 The Nanny Express-PG15 Sunny And The ElephantRelative Stranger-PG15 Gandhi-PG Walk The Line-PG15 Ironclad-18

09:00 Rango-FAM 11:00 Les Miserables 25th Anniversary-PG15 14:00 The Bad News Bears (2005)-PG 16:00 Tim Richmond: To The LimitPG15 17:00 Rango-FAM 19:00 Tower Heist-PG15 21:00 Safe House-PG15 23:00 Cedar Rapids-18

00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Blind Revenge-18 Treasure Buddies-PG A Guy Thing-PG15 The Borrowers-PG The Adventures Of Tintin-PG For Richer Or Poorer-PG Another Earth-PG15 Paws-PG The Adventures Of Tintin-PG 127 Hours-PG15 Personal Effects-18 The American-18

00:30 PDC World Darts Championship 03:30 Trans World Sports 04:30 Top 14 06:30 Futbol Mundial 07:00 Cricket Twenty20 10:00 Inside The PGA Tour 10:30 Trans World Sports 11:30 Live Cricket Twenty20 14:30 ICC Cricket 360 15:00 Volvo Ocean Race Highlights 16:30 Futbol Mundial 17:00 Trans World Sport 18:00 ICC Cricket 360 18:30 Cricket Twenty20 21:30 Futbol Mundial 22:00 PDC World Darts Championship

00:30 03:30 04:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 10:30 11:30 13:00 15:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00

Cricket T20 Inside the PGA Extreme Sailing Trans World Sport Futbol Mundial Top 14 PGA European Tour Weekly Volvo Ocean Race Highlights Top 14 Cricket T20 Inside the PGA NFL Gameday WWE NXT UFC The Ultimate Fighter

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 13:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 16:00 17:00 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:30 22:30 23:00

World Cup of Pool Golfing World Trans World Sport Mosconi Cup Pool Golfing World Spirit of Golf Top 14 Highlights World Pool Masters World Cup of Pool Pro 12 Golfing World Top 14 Highlights Asian Tour Golf Show World Pool Masters World Cup of Pool Pro 12 Spirit of Golf Top 14 Highlights Futbol Mundial Trans World Sport Golfing World Asian Tour Golf Show World Pool Masters

00:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter The Smashes 01:00 V8 Supercars Highlights 03:00 UFC Unleashed 05:00 NHL 07:00 WWE SmackDown 09:00 V8 Supercars Highlights 11:00 NHL 13:00 WWE Vintage Collection 14:00 WWE Bottom Line 15:00 Prizefighter 18:00 WWE NXT 19:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter The Smashes 20:00 UFC 23:00 WWE NXT

34

s ta rs CROSSWORD 58

STAR TRACK Aries (March 21-April 19) ARIES You could be helping or making decisions concerning group issues. With your business and organizational expertise, you will know just what to do. You may find several requisitions on the proper way to handle foreign visitors to your company—you do well. You are the peacemaker. The ways you make choices are very wise—others could learn from the way you decipher, analyze and then move forward. The phone is nearby and there are people to call that will help you. You increase your finances today and you are able to see your future with a more realistic view. From now until June is the time to create some idea for a book. Gather information, read and take notes. Romance is possible this evening.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You may find yourself fussing with others regarding matters of group concern.

You sometimes feel the pressure of competition and may push yourself very hard, thinking that someone hungrier and savvier than you will overtake you. You may be going against tradition and being too independent for group approval. You win recognition and authority through hard work and knowing the score. You could let your emotions become carried away under this kind of pressure and make mistakes you may regret. Ease up and find the humor in the day—you and your co-workers will enjoy a bit of laughter. You and your loved one may enjoy talking about each other’s dreams. Your dreams have a great deal of validity behind their meaning—keep a diary.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

ACROSS 1. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural).

4. Bowing in such a way that the bow bounces lightly off the strings.

12. An ugly evil-looking old woman.

15. Of or relating to a member of the Buddhist people inhabiting the Mekong river in Laos and Thailand.

16. Pertaining to or near the sun.

17. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma.

18. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

19. Something of little value or significance.

20. The dialect of Chinese spoken in Canton and neighboring provinces and in Hong Kong and elsewhere outside China.

21. Speaking a Slavic language.

23. A mark used by an author or editor to indicate where something is to be inserted into a text.

24. Genus of sticky herbs with yellow flowers open in morning or evening but closed in bright light.

26. Small tropical American tree bearing edible plumlike fruit.

28. Perennial northern temperate plant with toothed leaves and heads of small purplishwhite flowers.

29. Constituting or having to do with or suggestive of a literary epic.

32. Half the width of an em.

33. A state in the Rocky Mountains.

36. A long brightly colored shawl.

38. A plant hormone promoting elongation of stems and roots.

41. A male monarch or emperor (especially of Russia prior to 1917).

43. Being one hundred more than three hundred.

45. A legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body.

47. Liquid containing proteins and electrolytes including the liquid in blood plasma and interstitial fluid.

49. A landlocked republic in eastern Africa.

51. An inhabitant of ancient Thebes.

54. Of or relating to or in the manner of the playwright Henrik Ibsen.

55. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

56. Gymnastic apparatus consisting of two parallel wooden bars supported on uprights.

59. (of skin) Having a tan color from exposure to the sun.

63. A colorless odorless gaseous element that give a red glow in a vacuum tube.

64. French romantic writer (1766-1817).

66. The imperial dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644.

68. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

72. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.

73. Coelenterate genus of order Madreporaria, including staghorn corals.

77. (slang) A gangster's pistol.

78. A religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft and sorcery.

79. A cut of pork ribs with much of the meat trimmed off.

80. 10 hao equal 1 dong.

81. Perennial herb of East India to Polynesia and Australia cultivated for its large edible root yielding Otaheite arrowroot starch.

82. A city in southwestern California east of Los

Angeles.

83. Of southern Europe.

DOWN 1. By bad luck.

2. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.

3. (Greek mythology) Daughter of Zeus and Demeter.

4. 3 to 30 gigahertz.

5. A fine closely woven cotton fabric.

6. (anatomy) Of or relating to the ilium.

7. An oral antibiotic (trade name Cipro) used against serious bacterial infections of the skin or respiratory tract of urinary tract or bones or joints.

8. A strip of land projecting into a body of water.

9. Of or relating to acetone.

10. Any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue.

11. Capital of the state of Washington.

12. Austrian composer who influenced the classical form of the symphony (1732-1809).

13. Wild sheep of northern Africa.

14. (Greek mythology) Goddess of the earth and mother of Cronus and the Titans in ancient mythology.

22. A Roman Catholic priest who acts for another higher-ranking clergyman.

25. A resource.

27. A tight-fitting headdress.

30. An archaic name for Easter or Passover.

31. Feeling or showing extreme anger.

34. Boas and pythons.

35. A pattern forming a unity within a larger structural whole.

37. Counting the number of white and red blood cells and the number of platelets in 1 cubic millimeter of blood.

39. Dried out by heat or excessive exposure to sunlight.

40. Of or relating to or characteristic of Benin or its people.

42. A light strong brittle gray toxic bivalent metallic element.

44. Having a crew.

46. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

48. Terrestrial carnivores.

50. Wild or seedling sweet cherry used as stock for grafting.

52. (Scottish) Bluish-black or gray-blue.

53. The compass point that is one point east (clockwise) of due north.

57. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

58. Marine fishes with a flattened elongated body and a sucking disk on the head for attaching to large fish or moving objects.

60. A sheet or band of fibrous connective tissue separating or binding together muscles and organs etc.

61. A fastener (as a buckle or hook) that is used to hold two things together.

62. The rattling noise produced when snoring.

65. A sock with a separation for the big toe.

67. A facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth.

69. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

70. South African term for `boss'.

71. On, to, or at the top.

74. An accountant certified by the state.

75. The network in the reticular formation that serves an alerting or arousal function.

76. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

All of a sudden too many people are whispering around the office and you wonder what is going on. Carry on business as usual, somebody that can’t keep a secret will tell you . . . just don’t laugh too loud. Your business decisions are good but resist the urge to make personal decisions for today, as you will have better choices on the horizon.

When you have some free time—dive into a bookstore and have fun browsing. You show great progress in your attempt to balance between work and play and you are successful in teaching others to do the same. At home this evening you may feel most loving and warm to those around you and you are appreciative of your own life and self, in general. This evening you can relax with loved ones.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) Ambition is a powerful motivation. This can lead you into conflict if you let it get out of control. Properly channeled, it results in great achievements and brings recognition. A special item you have been wanting for some time is within your reach now. You are constantly gathering ideas that will increase your finances. It is up to you to act on some of this information. Do not respond by impulse but with thorough investigation and scrutiny. There is a push to finish projects that you have abandoned in the past. You will probably have some long conversations with an older person today—perhaps an authority figure.

You will be able to encourage each other when it comes to some important decisions.

Leo (July 23-August 22) About the time that one thing works out, some other problem or challenge arises. You make the effort to remember to consider the positive with each challenge; however, you will set the pace for others. After a busy day, be kind to your feet— relax for a while with your feet propped up and do not sit on your feet. Stay away from stimulating situations after such a busy day, if possible—perhaps music will be soothing. Take care of personal affairs this afternoon. You will have a good opportunity to reflect on your own situation and how you relate to the world around you. Lovers, children and other people or things dear to your heart are emphasized this evening. You may be teaching a child not be afraid of asking questions or making mistakes.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) Communication comes in clear form. In the workplace, you will suddenly look around and find that the impact of the last few weeks is finally over. The office machines are running smoothly and life is busy but less stressful. The past few weeks were profitable but it is nice to be back in some sort of control. Today you may find a new friend in the workplace. A friendship is important and you will find many things for which to laugh about and stories to share. Confidence reigns this afternoon as you tackle a difficult job—you feel very much in control and strong in your profession. This afternoon you may find that it is your turn to volunteer at the Parent Teacher Association. The evening goes well and you may even find another new friend.

Word Search

Libra (September 23-October 22) Unfinished business can be completed early this Wednesday. Later, you may just want to sit back and soak in all the good feelings. There is a personal decision to be made before this day is over. Perhaps a for-and-against or a pro-and-con list will help you come up with some answers. If needed, you can be most persuasive with others. You can expect a little boost, some sort of extra support from those around you. There is positive feedback when you express your dreams, ideas and thoughts. Friendships and involvement in group activities are all possible this afternoon. Lovers, children and other people or things dear to your heart are emphasized this evening. You give a listening ear to a complainer—he or she has his or her own answers.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Now is the best time to talk with a professional. All energies are working toward a positive result. You will earn a good living in your lifetime, slowly building up a sound base for financial security as you go along at your own steady pace.

Review your options for investments and get advice on which way to go with this endeavor.

Your talents and capabilities are many. As an adult, only you can deprive yourself of anything.

This is truly the beginning of many bright sunshiny days. Faith, optimism and a yearning to explore all kinds of new horizons are some of the focal points in your life at this time. A reunion with a friend opens a door to memories and much laughter. There is inspiration from your significant other.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) An authority figure could slow you down today—patience. The people that sign our checks have priority, so walk quietly and carry a big positive attitude.

You must look at today as one of the stepping-stones to success—delays are temporary—and sometimes important. Today and tomorrow are the best times to start a diet. You will do best in the dieting game if you compete with yourself or a friend and make the reward clothing. Do not miss meals in order to lose weight, just cut back on the amount and walk for exercise.

Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever! Someone may offer you a deal you think you cannot refuse this evening—refuse it. Go forward with your own plans and allow others to get on with their plans.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19) Your own inner need for change and growth may be threatened by someone older or by circumstances. It could be that the time is just not right for some of the changes you want to make. Someone who seemed out to damage your good name has turned out to be a totally different person than you thought—a really good friend. Patience will win out, especially as you lend a listening ear to someone that is very frustrated. This person is all caught up in techniques. Somewhere you have heard before to not stress yourself out over the small stuff, and it is all small stuff. You may decide to teach this. Careful, there are plenty of unexpected requests for your money as well as a desire to own something fine or pretty. Music is relaxing this evening.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18) The hard work you have been doing lately is beginning to show positive results. Meetings or presentations show you as very well organized and knowledgeable. You may be able to bring a group together with words or ideas that are helpful to others. Later this afternoon, you may be challenging young people to write poetry and encouraging their artistic talents. There is a never-ending need for original writing and you may take up the pen and create a story, proposal or poem yourself. This afternoon your homework will be exactly that . . . homework. You have company coming and will hurry through a variety of cleaning techniques that could have you huffing and puffing by the time your company appears. Advance notice is always welcomed.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Too many responsibilities can clutter your thinking as well as your progress.

Any new request for your time might send your nerves in a twist. When there are requests for your time and efforts—give some thought about what you are involved with just now. You may want to consider dropping one or two of your interests for a short time—it may be time to let someone else be creative. Demands at work are ongoing and it is important to enjoy your work breaks. Friends or a friend can be great company this afternoon. You may be feeling more like sharing some time with your lover or with close friends this evening.

There is growth in your relationships. You can see the tangible benefits and will find ways to compliment each person.

Yesterday’s Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku

Yesterday’s Solution

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

i n f o r m at i o n For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 GOVERNORATE Sabah Hospital

24812000

Amiri Hospital

22450005

Maternity Hospital

24843100

Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital

25312700

Chest Hospital

24849400

Farwaniya Hospital

24892010

Adan Hospital

23940620

Ibn Sina Hospital

24840300

Al-Razi Hospital

24846000

Physiotherapy Hospital

24874330/9

Kaizen center

25716707

Rawda

22517733

Adaliya

22517144

Khaldiya

24848075

Kaifan

24849807

Shamiya

24848913

Shuwaikh

24814507

Abdullah Salem

22549134

Nuzha

22526804

Industrial Shuwaikh

24814764

Qadsiya

22515088

Dasmah

22532265

Bneid Al-Gar

22531908

Shaab

22518752

Qibla

22459381

Ayoun Al-Qibla

22451082

Mirqab

22456536

Sharq

22465401

Salmiya

25746401

Jabriya

25316254

Maidan Hawally

PHARMACY

ADDRESS

Ahmadi

Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan

Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd

23915883 23715414 23726558

Jahra

Modern Jahra Madina Munawara

Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 Jahra-Block 92

24575518 24566622

Capital

Ahlam Khaldiya Coop

Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop

22436184 24833967

Farwaniya

New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan

Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11

24734000 24881201 24726638

Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Mishrif Coop Salwa Coop

25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264 25380581 25628241

Hawally

ST TATE T OF KUW K WAIT A

Te el.: 161

DIRECTORA AT TE GENERAL GENE OF CIVIL AVIA V AT TION PARTMENT A METEOROLOGICAL DEP DA AY Y: Weednesday

02/01/2013

BY Y DA AY:

Fair with light to moderate north westerly becoming north easterly wind, with speed of 10 - 30 km/h and some scattered clouds will appear

BY Y NIGHT:

Cold with light to moderate north easterly becoming north westerly wind, with speed of 15 - 38 km/h and some scattered clouds will appear No Current Warnings arnin a

WA ARNING

14 °C

KUW WA AIT AIRPOR RT

20 °C

11 °C

NUW WA AISEEB

20 °C

11 °C

WAFRA A

20 °C

09 °C

SALMI

19 °C

10 °C

ABDAL LY

20 °C

12 °C

JAL ALIY YA AH

20 °C

11 °C

25623444

FA AILAKA

19 °C

14 °C

Bayan

25388462

AHMADI POR RT

19 °C

16 °C

Mishref

25381200

UMM AL-MARADEM

20 °C

18 °C

W Hawally

22630786

WARBA A A - BUBY YAN A

20 °C

11 °C

Sabah

24810221

Jahra

24770319

New Jahra

24575755

West Jahra

24772608

South Jahra

24775066

North Jahra

24775992

North Jleeb

24311795

ST TAT TION

SFC. CHART

02/01/2013 0000 UTC

4 DA AY YS FORECAST Temperatures DA AY

DA ATE T

WEA AT THER

MAX.

MIN.

Wind Direction

Wind Speed

Thursday

03/01

sunny + dust at open areas

20 °C

10 °C

NW

20 - 45 km/h

Friday Saturday

04/01

sunny + blowing light dust

18 °C

07 °C

NW

20 - 40 km/h

05/01

Mostly sunny

18 °C

06 °C

VRB-SE

08 - 30 km/h

Sunday

06/01

sunny + scattered clouds

21 °C

10 °C

SE-NW

10 - 32 km/h

PRA RA AY YER TIMES

RECORDED YESTERDA AY AT KUW WAIT A AIRPORT

Fajr

05:18

MAX. Temp.

21 °C

24884079

Sunrise

06:43

MIN. Temp.

10 °C

24892674

Zuhr

11:52

MAX. RH

90 %

Asr

14:43

MIN. RH

27 % N 21 km/h

Omariya

24719048

Sunset

17:01

MAX. Wind

N Khaitan

24710044

Isha

18:23

TOT TAL AL RAIINF FA ALL L IN 24 HR.

Fintas

23900322

All times are local time unless otherwise stated.

00 mm V1.00

02/01/13 02:31 UTC

T1.06

PRIVATE CLINICS Paediatricians

Plastic Surgeons Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf

22547272

Dr. Khaled Hamadi

Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari

22617700

Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed

Dr. Abdel Quttainah

25625030/60

Family Doctor Dr Divya Damodar

23729596/23729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari

22635047

Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

22613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians DrAdrian arbe

23729596/23729581

Dr. Verginia s.Marin

2572-6666 ext 8321

Endocrinologist

25665898 25340300

Dr. Zahra Qabazard

25710444

Dr. Sohail Qamar

22621099

Dr. Snaa Maaroof

25713514

Dr. Pradip Gujare

23713100

Dr. Zacharias Mathew

24334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)

25655535

Dentists

Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan

22655539

Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami

25343406

Dr. Shamah Al-Matar

22641071/2

Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly

25739272

Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed

22562226

22618787

Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer

22561444

Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan

22619557

Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash

22525888

Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan

25653755

Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

25620111

Dr. Salem soso General Surgeons Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer

22610044

Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher

25327148

Internists, Chest & Heart Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

22666300 25728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra

25355515

Dr. Mobarak Aldoub

24726446

Dr Nasser Behbehani

25654300/3

info@soorcenter.com www.soorcenter.com

3729596/3729581

Neurologists

22639939

Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman

Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri

25633324

Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

25345875

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman

22636464

Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly

25322030

Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

22633135

Kaizen center 25716707

25339330

Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD Dr. Deyaa Shehab

25722291

Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

22666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi

Dr Anil Thomas

Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688

Al-Shuwaikh

24810598

Al-Nuzha

22545171

Sabhan

24742838

Al-Helaly

22434853

Al-Faiha

22545051

Al-Farwaniya

24711433

Al-Sulaibikhat

24316983

Al-Fahaheel

23927002

Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh

24316983

Ahmadi

23980088

Al-Mangaf

23711183

Al-Shuaiba

23262845

Al-Jahra

25610011

Al-Salmiya

25616368

Expected Weeather for the Next 24 Hours

21 °C

Psychologists /Psychotherapists

22545171

INTERNATIONAL CALLS

07:00

Issue Time

KUW WA AIT CITY

Ophthalmologists Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427

Al-Shuhada

WWW.MET.GOV V..KW

MIN. REC.

Firdous

Ext.: 2627 262 - 2630

22418714

Fax: 24348714

MAX. EXP P.

Ardhiya

PHONE

Al-Madeena

25330060

Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah

25722290

Internist, Chest & Heart DR.Mohammes Akkad

24555050 Ext 210

Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123

2611555-2622555

William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677

Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593 Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062

Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231 Libya 00218 Lithuania 00370 Luxembourg 00352 Macau 00853 Macedonia 00389 Madagascar 00261 Majorca 0034 Malawi 00265 Malaysia 0060 Maldives 00960 Mali 00223 Malta 00356 Marshall Islands 00692 Martinique 00596 Mauritania 00222 Mauritius 00230 Mayotte 00269 Mexico 0052 Micronesia 00691 Moldova 00373 Monaco 00377 Mongolia 00976 Montserrat 001664 Morocco 00212 Mozambique 00258 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 Namibia 00264 Nepal 00977 Netherlands (Holland) 0031 Netherlands Antilles 00599 New Caledonia 00687 New Zealand 0064 Nicaragua 00505 Nigar 00227 Nigeria 00234 Niue 00683 Norfolk Island 00672 Northern Ireland (UK) 0044 North Korea 00850 Norway 0047 Oman 00968 Pakistan 0092 Palau 00680 Panama 00507 Papua New Guinea 00675 Paraguay 00595 Peru 0051 Philippines 0063 Poland 0048 Portugal 00351 Puerto Rico 001787 Qatar 00974 Romania 0040 Russian Federation 007 Rwanda 00250 Saint Helena 00290 Saint Kitts 001869 Saint Lucia 001758 Saint Pierre 00508 Saint Vincent 001784 Samoa US 00684 Samoa West 00685 San Marino 00378 Sao Tone 00239 Saudi Arabia 00966 Scotland (UK) 0044 Senegal 00221 Seychelles 00284 Sierra Leone 00232 Singapore 0065 Slovakia 00421 Slovenia 00386 Solomon Islands 00677

36

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Vergara involved in Miami club row ofia Vergara was caught up in a New Year’s Eve nightclub row which resulted in her fiancÈ being thrown out.

The ‘Modern Family’ actress’ businessman lover Nick Loeb was kicked out of exclusive Miami hotspot Story after a heated argument broke out in the VIP area when Sofia posed for a photograph with a fan. Nick got into a row with a nearby table and after a scuffle broke out security guards grabbed him and threw him out of the back door of the club with Sofia following him out. In the fracas, the 40-year-old Columbian actress’ breasts were exposed leaving her embarrassed in front of other revellers and her 20-year-old son who was also present. An eyewitness told the New York Post newspaper: “In the early hours, Nick got into a dispute with somebody at a neighbouring table. Some pushing and shoving started. “Sofia stepped in to try to calm the situation, but somehow she ended up getting pushed and shoved also. Her strapless dress was torn or pulled down in the melee, exposing her cleavage in front of other people and her son Manolo who was so offended he left the club. It was crazy.” The source added: “Nick was pulled away from Sofia and those at the next table by security guards, who dragged him out of the VIP section and threw him out of the club. Sofia followed him.” Sofia was quick to forgive Nick when the were out of the club and the pair retired back to their hotel room. Earlier in the evening, the sexy star had hosted the New Year’s Eve celebrations at Miami’s Delano Hotel, where she was spotted looking loved-up with the entrepreneur, who popped the question in July.

S

Paris is pleased for pregnant Kim aris Hilton is delighted Kim Kardashian is pregnant. The hotel heiress has put her feud with her reality TV rival behind her and expressed her well wishes for Kim, who is expecting her first child with rapper Kanye West, her boyfriend of eight months. An onlooker told TMZ they overheard Paris say, “So happy for her, they are perfect for each other”, when a friend broke the news to her while out shopping. Paris, 31, and Kim, 32, had a rivalry for years due to their very similar career paths and lifestyles, but recently made up and were spotted out together at a friend’s party and at an event in Miami. Meanwhile, Kim’s brother Rob - who recently split from Rita Ora - has also voiced his delight at the news, which broke when Kanye called Kim his “baby mamma” live on stage in Atlantic City on Sunday. Rob enthused: “It’s beautiful. It’s a blessing. The New Year, we’ve got another child coming, so that’s great. Kim’s never had a baby, so it’s going to be a beautiful blessing.” He also hinted Kim who is still legally married to estranged husband Kris Humphries - won’t be walking down the aisle with Kanye anytime soon and wants to concentrate on motherhood for the time being. He said: “No idea, no idea. I’m sure that will come down the road, but right now I’m sure everyone’s focusing on just the baby going on right now. I’m sure that’s something in the future.”

P

Watts’ near death experience while filming ‘The Impossible’ aomi Watts thought she was going to die while filming a scene that went wrong for ‘The Impossible’. The 44-year-old actress plays a mother who, along with her husband and three children, is caught up in the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004, and she has revealed that art eerily imitated life after a technical hitch left her submerged under water without air.

Speaking to the Metro newspaper, she explained: “Something went wrong technically with the chair they strap you to when they submerge you in the water. It spins you around under water and the crew just weren’t able to shut it off at the right point. I couldn’t get out and was really struggling for breath.” Naomi - who has two children, Sasha, five, and Sammy, four, with actor Liev Schreiber - insists the incident gave her just a small sense of what people endured in the natural disaster, which claimed 275,000 lives. She said: “It helps you to imagine. You can get tiny glimpses of what people went through. Though even this incident was nothing compared to what it was really like.” The movie is based on the true story of a Spanish family’s experience of the tsunami and Naomi admits meeting the woman whose harrowing tale she retells on-screen was a powerful experience. The Hollywood star said: “The thing that really surprised me was that she said she felt so connected to her instincts at the time of the disaster and she was so sure about the big decisions she had to make. That was surprising because I can’t imagine being so in touch with my instincts. “I had played a mother a lot of times before I was a mother but now I am a mum, I worry about my own children every day in the tiniest ways. Definitely having been a mother and playing this character, it added a lot of weight to it.”

N

A paparazzi killed while following

Bieber

paparazzi has been killed while following Justin Bieber. An unidentified man was fatally struck by a car after taking photos of the 18year-old pop star’s Ferrari on a Los Angeles street. He passed away in hospital shortly after the accident on Tuesday evening. Police Officer James Stoughton confirmed the photographer was hit while crossing Sepulveda Boulevard after taking snaps of Justin’s white sports car, which was parked near Getty Center Drive. The ‘Boyfriend’ singer wasn’t in the vehicle at the time, having loaned his car to two friends, according to gossip website TMZ. Police say charges are unlikely to be pressed against the motorist who hit the photographer. Justin has been at the centre of paparazzi related incidents in the past, most recently in August when two photographers trailing the Canadian singer lost control of their cars and crashed into each other. The teen idol was also involved in a physical altercation with a photographer at The Commons mall in Calabasas, California, this summer when a photographer attempted to take photos of his on/off girlfriend Selena Gomez. Meanwhile, Justin whisked Selena, 20, away for a romantic New Year’s Eve celebration in Mexico. The couple reportedly partied the night away on the beach in Puerto Vallarta in a bid to get their relationship back on track.

A

Kelly Osbourne is an ‘emotional eater’

he ‘Fashion Police’ host - who is known for her fluctuating weight but is now a small UK size 8 (US size 4) - admits she turns to food whenever she is upset by something but has gradually learned to take control of her diet and exercise regime and food urges. She said: “I’m an emotional eater. When I get upset, my diet goes out the window.

Now, I’ve finally learned how to eat properly and I’ve found ways to make working out a fun part of my life, like getting my friends to do it with me.” Though the 28-year-old star who is dating vegan chef Matthew Mosshart - watches what she eats, she has a “cheat day” every week and knows depriving herself when she craves a particular food would only make her miserable. She added to Closer magazine: “I have one ‘cheat’ day a week where I eat whatever I want. I usually indulge with pizza and cheese - I love brie - and cookies. But when I’m full, I stop eating. “I’ve put a lot of hard work into my body over the years and, in the process, I’ve learnt to love myself. Never deprive yourself of anything because they you get angry about it. People who are always hungry are miserable.”

T

Cole to meet Tre’s mother heryl Cole is set to meet her boyfriend’s mother. The Girls Aloud star’s lover, American dancer Tre Holloway, has booked a ticket for his mum Shirley to fly from Burlington, New Jersey, to London and the couple are looking forward to showing her some popular tourist spots - including famous waxwork museum Madame Tussauds, which houses a Cheryl replica. A source told The Sun newspaper: “Tre has already been to Newcastle to meet Cheryl’s mum and wanted to reciprocate.

He can’t wait for the three of them to take in the tourist sites. “There have been jokes about closing off Madame Tussauds for a visit to Cheryl’s waxwork.” While Tre has met Cheryl’s mother Joan Callaghan and the pair got on well, it was recently claimed she stopped him from proposing to her famous daughter over the festive period as she fears the ‘Promise This’ singer could get hurt again following the 2010 demise of her marriage to soccer player Ashley Cole. Last month, a source said: “Tre called her and said he wanted to propose to Cheryl when they are in America. He wanted to do it on Christmas Day, but Joan refused to give her blessing. “She’s warming to Tre but there’s no way she’s going to let another man take Cheryl down the aisle so quickly. “Tre’s got his work cut out if he thinks he can get around Joan so soon.” Cheryl is very close to her mum Joan and famously moved her into the marital home she once shared with ex-husband Ashley, soon after they tied the knot in 2006. However, the marriage ended less than four years later after he cheated on her with a string of women. Tre is Cheryl’s first serious boyfriend since the split and he has already won over her friends with the way he treats the ‘Call My Name’ hitmaker.

However, the source added: “Tre, like scores of men, wants to marry Cheryl. But there is a lot of work to do to convince Joan he’s not in this for money or fame.” —Bang Showbiz

C

Firth makes sons wear patched up clothes olin Firth and his wife make their children wear “hand-me-down” clothes. The ‘Kings Speech’ actor and his wife Livia Giuggioli prefer to “mend” old garments for their sons Luca, 11, and nine-year-old Matteo rather than buy new items and are happy to accept clothes from friends.

Livia, who has her own ethical fashion collection Livia Firth Design, admitted: “With my kids’ clothes, we do a lot of hand-me-downs with friends. I mend. “I know it’s easier to throw away a sock with a hole and buy a new one than mend it, but I don’t do that.” The 43-year-old Italian film producer also revealed she and Colin, 52, and the boys enjoy relaxing “pyjama weekends” together where Luca and Matteo watch their mother sew together clothes and have some much needed downtime. Livia - who regularly recycles clothes and other fabric items to create new usable garments and cushions - is quoted by The Sun newspaper as saying: “The children aren’t allowed to do any clubs. We don’t do anything. We don’t go away. The kids need to rest!” The couple always try to live a green lifestyle and Colin has been known to wear environmentally-friendly suits on the red carpet. Livia is an ardent green campaigner and is also an Oxfam ambassador.

C

37

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

LIFESTYLE G o s s i p

Hathaway wants to adopt nne Hathaway wants to adopt children and have “a few” naturally. The 30year-old actress is very keen to start a family with her actor and jewellery designer husband Adam Shulman - who she married in September - and while the brunette beauty would love to have as many kids as she can “afford”, she insists each one must feel “special”. She said: “I’ve wanted to be a mom since I was 16. I’m 30 and I want to have a family of a certain size. “I’ll start with one healthy kid but I’d like to have a few naturally and adopt. I gotta get on it, you know? I’d like to have as many as I can afford, not just financially but in terms of time, because you want to make sure each one feels special. “I’ve had one goal in mind for the past 12 years, which is: get a movie, get a movie, get a movie. Now I might have to say: get a baby, get a baby, get a baby.” The ‘Les Miserables’ star insists Adam is the “greatest person” she knows and while the brunette beauty loves her six-carat emerald-cut engagement ring which he designed, she would forgo it just to be with him. She added to Stella magazine: “He spent six months designing it and it was beyond my wildest dreams when he opened the box. “I didn’t need anything. I was so happy he wanted to marry me. He’s the greatest person I know.

You’d have to meet him, then you’d get it. He is one of those people who wants good for everyone.”

A

Harry and Taylor enjoy New Year kiss arry Styles and Taylor Swift saw in the New Year with a kiss. The One Direction singer jetted off to New York City to see his girlfriend perform at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on Monday night and the pair weren’t shy as they locked lips in front of thousands of fans in Times Square when the clock struck midnight. Harry, 18, was so excited to see Taylor, 22, after spending Christmas apart from her, he turned up at London’s Heathrow Airport on Friday without his passport and had to have it couriered to him from his mum’s house in Cheshire, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper.

The two pop stars stunned onlookers on as they shared a very public embrace after Taylor took to the stage to sing her hit song ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ at the New Year’s

H

Eve event which was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Taylor sent pulses racing in skintight black leather pants and a red leather jacket. Earlier in the evening, Harry was spotted at Jay-Z and Coldplay’s New Year’s Eve concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but the singer rushed back to Times Square in Manhattan in time to be with Taylor at midnight. After wrapping up her duties for the night, the smitten couple were spotted hand-in-hand as they headed back to their hotel. Harry and Taylor reportedly spent lots of time video calling each other via Skype while he spent Christmas with his family in the UK, and she with her family in the US.

Hagman’s home for sale arry Hagman’s home has been put on the market for $6.5 million. The late ‘Dallas’ star’s wife Maj has put their 20,000 square-foot ranch in Ojai, California, called Heaven up for sale just weeks after he passed away in November. According to gossip website RadarOnline.com, the spectacular property has views of the Pacific Ocean and mountains in all directions and was purchased by the actor in 1987. He slowly extended it from 1,500 square-foot in an enormous nine bedroom palace with nine bathrooms and five swimming pools. In a video tour of the home narrated by Larry, he describes how he and his wife instantly fell in love with the property when they first saw it, saying: “I took a look at it and that was on a Monday and Friday we owned the property. She said ‘This is as close to heaven as I think we’ll ever get.’” He also credited his wife for completely transforming the property, saying: “I expected a nice little four bedroom house, I think it was 1,500 square feet so may added another 25,000 square feet.” The Tuscan-style home sits on 42 acres, which have been planted with plenty of fruit and vegetables including olive, grapefruit, lime, orange and avocado trees and 400 rose bushes.

Larry - who was best known for playing villainous J.R. Ewing in oil drama ‘Dallas’ - lost his battle with cancer aged 81 last month and when his friend and co-star Linda Gray visited him in hospital, he told her he knew he wouldn’t survive until Christmas. She recently revealed: “He said, ‘I’ve got two weeks to live!’ We went, ‘What are you talking about? Come on, we’ve got a scene on Monday ... you’re not going anywhere. That was the last time we saw him.” Linda insists her friend’s final days were not upsetting because he had accepted his fate and knew he had lived a long and full life. She added: “He didn’t do sad. He wanted everything to be glorious. He wasn’t afraid of dying.”

L

Spears may

be axed from ‘The X Factor’ USA ritney Spears is allegedly set to be axed from ‘The X Factor’ USA. The ‘Hold It Against Me’ singer - who acted as a judge on the second series of the FOX reality TV show alongside Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato and L.A. Reid - is reportedly unlikely to have her contract renewed after disappointing producers with her “low energy” and providing “boring” feedback to contestants. A source told US Weekly magazine, that the 31-year-old mother-of-two - who was on a one year $15 million contract and whose act Carly Rose made it to this season’s grand final - is facing the axe just weeks after music producer and record label boss LA Reid announced he won’t be returning next year. The insider said: “Britney will get the boot. Producers wanted her for the long haul, but it isn’t working.

They paid all that for her to say ‘amazing’ and offer half-claps.” The source said Simon Cowell was especially let down by Britney’s attitude on the panel, saying: “He wanted crazy Britney, but he got boring Britney.”

Meanwhile, Britney’s personal relationship with fiance Jason Trawick is also reportedly on the rocks. A friend said: “They are pulling away from each other. Unless things change, they will split for good.” Sources previously claimed that ‘The X Factor’ producers were eager to dramatically reduce the show’s budget next season and felt they could not justify paying Britney $15 million again in light of the show’s disappointing ratings.

The source said: “Producers were hoping to pull in between 15-20 million viewers but the show hasn’t reached those expectations and in a recent episode that clashed with the World Series only 5.7 million watched.

“Those numbers add up to cost cutting and Britney will be expendable.

So, considering Fox has already renewed ‘The X Factor’ for a third season, producers will be looking to spend less on the production of the show, including the judges’ salaries. “Britney, who was signed on a one-year deal, is the first person who will be expected to have her salary chopped. She is on a $15 million contract, which is absurd given that there’s been no huge surge in the ratings.”

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David and Victoria Beckham enroll kids in London school avid and Victoria Beckham have enrolled their children in an English school. The couple are now househunting in London after finding a £15,000a-year establishment in the UK capital for sons Brooklyn, 13, Romeo, 10, and Cruz, seven, and will make the move from Los Angeles in the summer. David and Victoria are also believed to have found a nursery suitable for their 17-month-old daughter Harper. A source close to the couple told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “For David and Victoria, the children come first. They have spent months researching schools and after visiting a few earlier this month, have found one they agree on. “It’s an independent school and will not be fazed by having celebrity children on its books. Both David and Victoria’s families are all delighted too

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as a return to London means they will see so much more of the children.” The move comes after David, 37, announced his intention to leave his current soccer team Los Angeles Galaxy. However, despite opting to be based in London with his fashion designer wife, the hunky sportsman may look further afield for his new club, with him believed to favour a move to play for French side Paris Saint-Germain. He is also weighing up options to play in Brazil or China on a lucrative contract. The source added: “David is coming to the end of his career and needs to consider his move carefully. A transfer to a top European club makes sense and as David has never played in France, a move to Paris would be ideal.”

Cyrus, Hemsworth spark wedding rumors

iley Cyrus has sparked rumors she has married Liam Hemsworth. Speculation is mounting that the couple - who got engaged last summer - tied the knot in recent days after they posted festive photographs of themselves on Instagram in which they are both wearing what appear to be wedding bands. According to gossip website TMZ.com, the 22-year-old ‘The Hunger Games’ star is seen posing in the picture with a ring on his left ring finger that “looks suspiciously like a wedding band”. Miley, 20, later posted a photo in which she also appears to be wearing two gold rings on her left ring finger, one of which is believed to be her engagement ring. The couple have yet to comment but no announcement has ever been made about a wedding date. Earlier this year, the ‘Can’t Be Tamed’ singer claimed she was in no rush to wed as she already felt married and didn’t feel any urgency about walking down the aisle. She said: “I already feel married. I know we are forever. I don’t need the paper right now. “I don’t know when we will get married yet. We are still enjoying being engaged. I’ve got so much planning to do with the tours and getting my record out.

First I have my movie, and then my record - then I’ll do my wedding planning.” The couple are believed to have spent Christmas with Miley’s family in the US but are also reportedly set to visit Liam’s family in his native Australia over the holidays. —Bang Showbiz

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

lifestyle T R A V E L

Head in the clouds in the

San Gabriel

Mountains

here is the John Muir of the San Gabriel Mountains? The Ansel Adams of the San Bernardinos? The Donner Party of the San Jacintos? All right, maybe one Donner Party was enough. But Muir, Adams and company are among the reasons the inland mountains of Southern California have never quite matched the attention won by their taller northern neighbors, the Sierra Nevada. Still, hikers, board-riders, skiers and snowballtossers in Southern California find no shortage of peace and exhilaration. Peaks and forests, lakes and trails, cabins and creeks. And most winters, there’s a fair amount of snow. Here’s a quick introduction to

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On its way downslope from Running Springs toward San Bernardino below, State Route 330 includes many turnouts with spectacular westward views.

(41268 Big Bear Blvd., Big Bear Lake) to load up on calories with menu items such as the Blob and the Mess, and to check out the bumper-sticker collection.

(Over the stove: “Friends don’t let friends join Sierra Club.”) If you’re an old-school skier, maybe you’d rather wind up the day by digging into a steak near the big stone fireplace at Captain’s Anchorage (42148 Moonridge Road, Big Bear Lake), which dates to the 1940s. If you’re renting a cabin, check the many rental agencies listed at www.bigbear.com/places-tostay/private-homes-cabins/.

At sunset, a couple plays with their dog as they walk along Big Bear Lake at Juniper Point near Fawnskin.

Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead and Idyllwild. These nine micro-itineraries round out this year’s series of Southern California Close-Ups, which covered San Diego and Santa Barbara counties, the high desert around Joshua Tree National Park and resorts of the Coachella Valley. Now, to the road.

Don’t omit the overlook One of the best things about a local mountain trip is getting there. Yes, driving those two-lane roads takes your full attention, but there are views to cherish as you creep into the San Bernardino Mountains on State Route 330 (or, depending on traffic and your destination, State Route 18 or State Route 38). If you’re on the 330, notice all those turnouts on the way? Use them, not only to let tailgaters pass, but also to savor the views of the constantly rearranging clouds and ridges bristling with pines. At sunset, even basin smog can look heavenly from here. In about 15 miles, most of your climbing will be done. To celebrate, pause for a snack at Rocky’s Roadhouse (32150 Hilltop, Running Springs).

From here, if there’s enough snow, you can go skiing or snowboarding at Snow Valley (35100 State Route 18, Running Springs). Or if you’re on a group retreat, perhaps you’ll find yourself brandishing a bow and arrow at the Pali Mountain Retreat & Conference Center (30778 State Route 18, Running Springs). Or maybe Running Springs is just a pit stop and you’re continuing on to Big Bear. That means more two-lane blacktop, but also more altitude and more scenery.

Skis, boards and gravity

After the twisting mountain road up from San Bernardino, Rocky’s Roadhouse in Running Springs is a good pit stop.

For skiers and snowboarders, there’s good news.

‘Thanks to December’s storms (and furious snowmaking), Bear Mountain (www.bearmountain.com) and Snow Summit (www.snowsummit.com) at Big Bear Lake and Snow Valley (www.snow-valley.com) at Running Springs are all open. Running Springs is about 85 miles east of Los Angeles; Big Bear Lake, 15 miles farther. Check individual resorts for info on snowfall and openings. For more details: www.onthesnow.com. All of these operations are modest compared with the ski resorts at Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain but are, of course, much closer.

The bear, the blob, the anchorage If you’re a young boarder on the way to Bear Mountain, stop at the gritty Grizzly Manor Cafe

A snowboarder sprays snow as he cuts a turn on a hill at Snow Summit, Big Bear Lake.

Big bear and other beasts Big Bear Lake (population, about 5,000; altitude, 6,750 feet) is a mountain town with a 7-mile-long lake next door, a batch of vintage cabins and lodges on its side streets and a deflating series of national franchises along its main drag. (More info: www.bigbear.com) Besides skiing and boarding in winter, it offers all sorts of hiking, boating and fishing in summer. You can start with a comfort-food breakfast at Teddy Bear Restaurant (583 Pine Knot Blvd., Big Bear Lake), then browse a few shops in the neighboring Village (www.bigbearlakevillage.com).

You might or might not want a look at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, formerly known as the Moonridge Animal Park, a long-standing, homespun facility with about 180 animals, most of them orphaned or injured in the wild, including a bison, a few bears and eagles and a bunch of timber wolves whose howls will excite the hairs on the back of your neck. Boosters are hoping to move to a new location soon. Until then, some people might be unsettled by the chain-link enclosures and the pudgy mountain lions. (“No,” says a sign, “our mountain lions are not pregnant. Help us obtain some exercise equipment for them.”) But read the other signs: If 90% of these creatures are returned to the wild, as they say, that’s a pretty good batting average.

Cap off your day with a Mexican dinner in the Village at El Jacalito (535 Pine Knot Ave, Big Bear Lake).

Walking and hiking Wake in your woodsy unit at Sleepy Forest Cottages (426 S. Eureka St, Big Bear Lake; fireplaces and Jacuzzi tubs), then stroll a few blocks in the adjacent Eagle Point neighborhood. Here, along Eureka Drive, Eagle Drive and Meadow Park, you see massive and classic cabins with big lake views. For a more direct lake view, head about 2 miles west to Boulder

Bay Park (39148 State Route 18, Big Bear Lake), which has picnic tables, a covered pavilion and a little fishing dock. But your real workout is waiting a little farther west along Big Bear Boulevard, about 500 feet beyond Talbot Drive.

(There’s a turnout on the lake side of the road.)

That’s the Castle Rock trailhead, the beginning of a path that climbs for a mile to a high jumble of granite with wide views of the lake and mountains. It’s pretty steep-about a 500-foot altitude gain-which makes the payoff view that much better. Afterward, cool off with a beer at Big Bear Mountain Brewery (40260 Big Bear Blvd., Big Bear Lake). Or, if the weather outside isn’t nice for walking, choose perhaps the most refreshment-friendly indoor sport ever: bowling. For years, the big, red Bowling Barn (40625 Lakeview Drive, Big Bear Lake) has been a mainstay of summer and winter merry-making. And locals will tell you the adjacent Sweet Basil Bistro (40629 Big Bear Blvd., Big Bear Lake) is an excellent dinner choice too.

Fawnskin On the quieter, lazier side of Big Bear Lake is the community of Fawnskin. To lie low, sleep in the Inn at Fawnskin (880 Canyon Road, Fawnskin), which is the big log cabin Laura Ashley would choose if she were in the neighborhood. Locals will recommend at least one meal at the North Shore Cafe (39226 North Shore Drive, Fawnskin). In summer, you’ll have all manner of aquatic options at Captain John’s Fawn Harbor & Marina (39369 North Shore Drive, Fawnskin) — standup paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, bass boats and speedboats.

And the Alpine Pedal Path that runs alongside the north edge of the lake is great spot for walking or riding. For more walking or riding, there’s the nearby Stanfield Marsh boardwalk and wildlife preserve (at Big Bear Boulevard and Stanfield Cutoff).

Lake arrowhead Right away, you’ll see this is not Big Bear. The lake is privately owned, which means the only people allowed to put boats on it are Arrowhead Woods homeowners and their guests. And even those people are banned from wind-surfing, knee boarding or using jet skis. As you may have surmised, the roughly 11,000 folks who live here earn about twice as much money as those in Big Bear (so says the Census Bureau).

A snowboarder soars high off a jump at Bear Mountain, Big Bear Lake.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

lifestyle T R A V E L

The Fireside Inn, in Idyllwild, includes eight cottages and cabins in town and another eight in the woods at town’s edge.

Lake Arrowhead Village (28200 State Route 189, Lake Arrowhead), almost entirely rebuilt in faux Tudor style in the 1970s, is basically an outdoor mall with specialty and outlet stores such as Bass, Coach, Izod and Pendleton, along with the Lake Arrowhead Resort & Spa. (Resort guests have beach access.) You could rent a vacation home in or near Arrowhead through AAA Resort Rentals (www.lakearrowheadrentals.com) or Arrowhead Property Rental (www.arrowheadrent.com). But maybe you’ll bunk just up the road from the village at the Saddleback Inn (300 S. State Route 173, Lake Arrowhead), which dates to 1917 and offers 10 handsome rooms and 24 cottages. Then meander down to the village, take in the calm water and pine-studded surrounding slopes, and buy a bag of duck food for 50 cents at Pine Cone Coffee Co (Suite E-100) and shatter the silence by setting off a riot of ravenous waterfowl. To escape prosecution, you duck into Waffle Works (Suite E-150) for a sugar-sprinkled breakfast or browse the art in the nonprofit, co-op Mountain Arts Network Gallery (Suite E-120). Later on, maybe you’ll take a child to enjoy the carousel and miniature golf in the village’s Lollipop Park. Or perhaps you’ll duck into LeRoy’s Board Shop (Suite C-100) to buy a $16 adult ticket for a 50minute cruise on the 65-passenger Arrowhead Queen. Tiny Lake Gregory-small enough to circle on a long family walk-is less than 10 miles away in Crestline.

The Idyllwild life If you live to ski or snowboard, stay away from Idyllwildnothing for you here. But everybody else, including rockclimbers, listen up. Idyllwild (population 3,500; altitude 5,300 feet) sits in the San Jacinto Mountains, fairly bursting

The Rainbow Inn is a popular B&B in Idyllwild, with five rooms.

Inner tubers slide down the mountain at Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain, Big Bear.

with artsiness. Mountain Mike’s (54360 N Circle Drive, Idyllwild) has been selling custom leather work, hats, moccasins, straight-edge razors, holsters and elk hides ($10 a square foot) for more than 30 years (For $400, you can have a pair of slippers hand-sewn of sheepskin, elk skin and deer hide, with bull-hide soles.) Candy Cupboard (54250 N Circle Drive, Idyllwild) is a tiny space full of taffy, chocolate and 28 flavors of shaved ice. Cafe Aroma (54750 N Circle Drive, Idyllwild), which often has live music on weekends, has tasty food (maple-leaf duck breast, anyone? Garlic bisque?) and a patio area that fills up whenever there’s mild weather.

While you’re here, keep an eye out for posters advertising concerts by students or faculty at the well-regarded Idyllwild Arts Academy (52500 Temecula Road, IdyllwildPine Cove). But while the sun’s still shining, head to Humber Park, at the northeast end of Fern Valley Road, for its breathtaking views of 8,750-foot Tahquitz Peak to the east and Suicide Rock to the north. From there, two trails will take you into the landscape-the more challenging Devils Slide Trail, which climbs to a mountain saddle, and the flatter Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail. Before hiking, buy an Adventure Pass ($5 for a day) at the US Forest Service San Jacinto Ranger District office (54270 Pine Crest, Idyllwild). When it’s time to crash, one source for cabins is Idyllwild Vacation Rentals (www.idyllvacationrentals.com), which handles about 40 homes. Or you could try the Fireside Inn, which has eight cottages and cabins on the main drag and eight more on the edge of town. For a grown-up experience that’s more B&B and less rustic, check out the Rainbow Inn, a handsome old house with five rooms for rent upstairs and so much space downstairs that it gets rented for weddings

Castle Rock Trail, a popular Big Bear Lake hiking route, has its trailhead on Big Bear Blvd. about 500 feet west of Talbot Drive.

The town of Running Springs includes various funky businesses, some in A-frame structures. and parties.

Pines, palms and pacific crest If you’d rather enjoy your mountain scenery without getting dirty or sweaty, grab your convertible or motorcycle (or just roll the windows down) and try the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway. It begins at Banning (on the way from LA to the Coachella Valley) and under the name State Route 243, it climbs steeply to Idyllwild.

You might prefer the less vertiginous part-State Route 74, which wriggles for more than 40 miles as it connects Idyllwild to Palm Desert, about an hour of two-lane blacktop, winding past the promised pines and palms, but also oaks, granite, the Pacific Crest Trail and some seriously calendar-worthy views. — MCT

Idyllwild’s Humber Park features two trailheads leading toward the granite peaks of the San Jacinto Mountains.

Cafe Aroma, one of the busiest restaurants in Idyllwild, offers patio dining and live music.

Lake Arrowhead Village includes docks and, frequently, ducks.

Disney World’ s new Fantasyland becomes a reality

By Marjie Lambert ORLANDO: Magic Kingdom has added a forest to Fantasyland, doubling its size and reorganizing it into two mini-lands with polished charm, color, music, storytelling, long-lashed cuteness and talking critters, be they a gruff but softhearted seagull or a kindly candelabra with a French accent. The expansion, which officially opened Dec. 6, adds an area called the Enchanted Forest with two castles, hills, groves and waterfalls. It contains the ride Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid, an enhanced meet-and-greet built around the story of “Beauty and the Beast,” a table-service restaurant that serves wine and beer, and several smaller features.

Much of existing Fantasyland is now part of Storybook Circus, headlined by double Dumbo rides, a rethemed Barnstormer junior coaster, the Casey Jr. water play area and such old favorites as the Mad Tea Party and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The two key attractions in the Enchanted Forest center around princesses-Ariel, the mermaid and daughter of King Triton, and Belle, an official member of Disney’s princess lineup (though nothing in the Beauty and the Beast story suggests royal lineage).

Both incorporate new technology and an emphasis on characters. And like most of Fantasyland, they appeal primarily to younger children. Under the Sea is a traditional ride in which clamshell cars take guests under the sea and past scenes and music from “The Little Mermaid” movie, much as boats take riders past scenes of happy singing people on “It’s a Small World After All”-but the mermaid’s music is vastly better. Favorites: Ursula, the fabulous, villainous sea witch, sings “Poor Unfortunate Soul,” and lobsters and a conga line of fish dance to the calypso beat of “Under the Sea.” The ride itself is almost identical to the version that opened at Disneyland in California in 2011, but the Orlando attraction has more space for landscaping and an elaborate queue. Guests walk past waterfalls and into the grotto under Prince Eric’s Castle, where Scuttle the seagull entertains them with an interactive scavenger hunt. Afterward, fans can meet the princess in Ariel’s Grotto.

Enchanted Tales with Belle is an enhanced meet and greet in a richly

detailed setting, a fun storytelling experience. Guests are assigned roles by a trilling and effusive Madame Wardrobe, then turned over to Lumiere (the candelabra), who introduces them to a surprised Belle. Belle tells the story of how she and Beast met as guests wave their props, roar like the Beast, slap their hands on their thighs to make the sound of galloping horses and cheer on the kids who get roles in the story. Little ones get their pictures taken with Belle and exit beaming.

So did a couple dads who played the parts of suits of armor. (“Yaayyy Daddy!” cried a little voice from the rear of the room, as Belle took Daddy’s arm and posed with him.)

The expansion, elements of which are still under construction, uses the area formerly occupied by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as well as previously undeveloped land. Still to come are Princess Fairytale Hall, a meet-and-greet site for princesses who don’t have a home of their own, in 2013, and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, its bones rising above construction walls, to open in the first half of 2014.

On both sides of Fantasyland, the new and revamped attractions have an amazing level of detail, from the mother-andchild elephant footprints in the asphalt near the twin Dumbo rides to the ambience signaled by the kinds of rock used in the Beast’s Castle and Prince Eric’s Castle (rough, sharp-edged and foreboding for the former, warm, golden and rounded for the latter) to Maurice’s inventions in and around his cottage at Enchanted Tales with Belle.

Gone are the flat painted plywood scenes in Snow White’s Scary Ride, torn down to make room for Princess Fairytale Hall. Instead, a holographic rose drops petals in Be Our Guest restaurant in the Beast’s Castle, snow sparkles on ledges of Cinderella Castle, and electronic crabs get help from guests in the scavenger hunt in the Under the Sea queue.

Guests now have more opportunities to interact with characters, which for many youngsters are as important as the rides _ the Beast in his restaurant, Belle in Enchanted Tales, Gaston by his tavern near the Beast’s Castle, the Little Mermaid in Ariel’s Grotto, plus Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Minnie at Pete’s Silly Sideshow in Storybook Circus, which opened in October.

Disney is promoting Be Our Guest restaurant in the Beast’s Castle as another attraction, and in some respects it is. It is set in beautiful rooms designed to look

like the film, with as much attention to detail as any new ride, and the rose theme woven throughout. In the ballroom-the main dining room-diners can see snow falling beyond the high, arched windows.

Red napkins are folded and twisted into the shape of large rosebuds. Belle and Beast whirl in a dance atop a seven-foot music box in the Rose Gallery. In the West Wing, a slashed portrait of the prince changes to a portrait of the Beast.

Since the original story was set in the French countryside, the cuisine is French

low and a mango-passion fruit foam. The drink has a nice tang, as if the juice came from Granny Smith apples. (If you’re keeping score, it’s not as good as the frozen Butterbeer at that other theme park, but better than the Pumpkin Juice, which is also apple-based.)

Test track Not all of Disney World’s news comes from Fantasyland. At Epcot, Test Track, closed for upgrading in April, reopened this month with Chevrolet sponsorship.

Splitsville in Tampa, Florida has 30 bowling lanes, but its bigger business is in food and beverage sales. — MCT influenced. Lunch is fast-casual: Guests place their orders on touch screens, and the food is brought to the table. At night, servers take dinner orders. For the first time in Magic Kingdom, wine and beer are available, although with dinner only.

The ambience is quiet and as elegant as it can be in a theme park where the Beast stalks through the dining room and many guests are wearing sneakers. For theme-park dining, the food is very good, but not as good as meals in several of the resort’s hotels. The wait staff is attentive, sometimes to the point of being intrusive, but that might be expected in a new and very visible opening. Here’s hoping they mellow as they find their rhythm. Dinner entrees are $15.99-$29.99; wine $8-$17 per glass.

Be Our Guest’s dessert cart offers tempting cupcakes and cream puffs, but we opted to stop by Gaston’s Tavern for a LeFou’s Brew, a nonalcoholic slushy based on apple juice with a taste of marshmal-

The basic ride remains the same-the car still hits 65 mph, the fastest of any ride at a Disney park-but all the visuals have changed. Plus, the Imagineers have added a pre-show and an after-show.

Before the ride, guests design their own custom concept vehicle-shape, wheels, engine, color-on a touch screen at a design kiosk. As they work, the screen shows how the design affects capability, responsiveness, efficiency and power. It’s a game of balance-increase the power, for example, and the car will lose efficiency.

Riders get an electronic card that they swipe at the kiosk so their design follows them through the ride and the post-ride show.

While the old ride wound through a mockup of a GM test facility, where it was tested for attributes including suspension, braking and handling, the new one runs through the inside of a computer so riders have the sense that everything is virtual.

Some riders compared it to a scene from

the movie Tron .

As the ride vehicle is “tested” for capability, responsiveness, efficiency and power, so are the riders’ concept cars, with results displayed during the ride. (This function didn’t work for my design; it wasn’t clear whether there was a glitch or whether it was because I had started my design later than others in the same session.) Then the ride vehicle crashes through to the outside and runs at high speed on the track circling the building, just as it did before the redesign.

“We’ve kept that thrill but also added a design element and a personalization element so you’re a part of it,” said Melissa Jeselnick, Imagineer and assistant project manager. Afterward, guests can swipe their design card at a virtual slot-car course and see their virtual car compete against other riders’ designs. They can make a commercial for their concept car and email it to friends, take their photo with their concept car-or with other Chevrolet models-and email it, too.

Splitsville Over at Downtown Disney, in what used to be the Virgin Megastore at Pleasure Island, Splitsville Luxury Lanes was scheduled to open a two-level, 30lane bowling alley last week. Splitsville is an untraditional bowling alley, especially at Disney World, where it will cater mostly to out-of-towners and have no league play. Food and beverage service will account for about 70 percent of the operation, said Jessica Anderson, a sales and event manager. There will be seating for about 500 (some of it outdoors), two sushi bars, menu items including sandwiches and pizza, and live music. “The bowling is more just for the fun of it,” she said.

The lower level will be family-oriented at all hours, she said (the alley is open 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.), but upstairs will be 21-andover-only late nights on weekends.

Splitsville has smaller operations in four other cities, including one at South Miami’s Shops at Sunset Place.

Senses Spa At the Grand Floridian, a revamped spa, previously run by an outside vendor but taken over by Disney, was set to open two weeks ago with 15 treatment rooms.

The other spa on Disney property, at Saratoga Springs, is scheduled to close in January for a makeover and will also be operated by Disney when it reopens. And for the hard-core Disney fans: Yes, Senses Spa does have hidden Mickeys — MCT

Head in the clouds in the San Gabriel Mountains

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2013

People run into the cold waters of Deep Cove in Indian Arm, North Vancouver during the Penguin Plunge on New Year’s Day, Tuesday. —AP

Military issues cloud Korean singer Rain’s love life outh Korean pop icon Rain has come under fire after reports revealing his relationship with a top TV actress suggested he might be flouting the terms of his compulsory military service. Rain’s relationship with Kim Tae-Hee, a major TV drama star with a massive following in Japan, was first reported Tuesday by a tabloid magazine, sparking a fan frenzy on entertainment websites and social networks. The magazine published photos showing Kim, 32, wearing a cap and surgical mask, getting into a car driven by the singer, who is halfway through the two-year military service that is mandatory for Korean men.

“They are currently getting to know each other with feelings for each other,” Kim’s agency said in a statement later Tuesday, confirming the two had been dating for about a month. Fan excitement over the match-up between two of the country’s most high-profile celebrities was tempered by questions over how-as reported by the magazine-the couple had managed numerous dates over the past four weeks. During their military service, Korean men are largely confined to their barracks and given little free time.

“I don’t care whoever Rain dates ... but

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This file photo taken on March 10, 2007 shows South Korean pop star Jung Jihoon “Rain” performing in Ho Chi Minh City. —AFP photos

what kind of soldier gets Christmas holiday, where most guys toil shovelling piles of snow at the frontline units in bitter cold?” said one

online commentator. One of the tabloid pictures of the couple showed Rain, 30, driving a private car in military uniform, contrary to

This screen grab taken in Seoul from a webpage of South Korean tabloid magazine Dispatch yesterday shows photos of South Korean pop icon Rain and Kim Tae-Hee , a major TV drama star with a massive following in Japan, getting into a car.

Armstrong better, Green Day to resume tour in 2013 reen Day is going back on the road. The Grammy-winning punk band announced new

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tour dates Monday. The band canceled the rest of its 2012 club schedule and postponed the start of a 2013

File photo shows Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day on stage at the iHeart Radio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. —AP

arena tour after singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong’s substance abuse problems emerged publicly in September when he had a profane meltdown on the stage of the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. The band’s rep announced later that Armstrong was headed to treatment for substance abuse.

“I just want to thank you all for the love and support you’ve shown for the past few months,” Armstrong told fans in a statement Monday.

“Believe me, it hasn’t gone unnoticed and I’m eternally grateful to have such an amazing set of friends and family. I’m getting better every day.

So now, without further ado, the show must go on.” The tour is scheduled to begin March 28 at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago area. Tickets for postponed shows will be honored on the new dates, and refunds will be available for canceled shows.

“We want to thank everyone for hanging in with us for the last few months,” the band said. “We are very excited to hit the road and see all of you again, though we regret having to cancel more shows.” The band released their most recent album, “Tre,” on Dec. 11, more than a month ahead of schedule. —AP

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Xinhua News Agency, citing an independent monitor of box office figures, said Wednesday that it also beat James Cameron’s “Titanic” in 3D, the most popular foreign film in 2012, in Chinese theaters.

Set in Thailand, the film tells the story of two

Indian minister pens ‘luvvy-duvvy’ Bollywood song ndia’s communications minister, already a poet in his spare time, has found another outlet for his creative ambitions: penning a slushy love song for a new Bollywood film. Despite his challenging role as a minister and government troubleshooter, Kapil Sibal took up an offer by actor-director Aditya Om for the film “Bandook” (Gun) and wrote four songs, one of which made it into the movie. Sibal’s romantic number “showcases the pangs of separation of two lovers”, Om told AFP.

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Indian Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Kapil Sibal gestures as he attends The India Internet Governance Conference (IIGC) in New Delhi. —AFP

File photo shows members of Green Day, from left, Tre Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt attend the MTV Video Music Awards, in Los Angeles.

Low-cost Chinese film sets new record low-budget, domestically produced comedy has unexpectedly become the highest-grossing Chinese film to date. Chinese state media say the wacky road movie “Lost in Thailand” has grossed more than 1 billion yuan ($160 million) since its Dec 12 debut. The official

service guidelines, and not wearing his army beret. The defence ministry’s website has been bombarded with messages calling for Rain to be disciplined, with more than 3,000 people signing an online petition urging an investigation.

“Rain has to serve twice, just like Psy did!” said another online comment, referring to the “Gangnam Style” singer who was forced to repeat his military service after it emerged he had furthered his showbiz interests during his first stint.

Rain has been serving as an “entertainment soldier” who appears in military-run TV and radio programs aimed at boosting morale. The singer, whose real name is Jung Ji-Hoon, is one of the biggest names in the world of Kpop which commands a huge following in South Korea and across much of Asia and beyond. A defence ministry spokesman insisted Rain had earned holiday in line with military rules, but added that his army unit was “looking into the matter” given the public clamour. “We advise soldiers to wear proper military outfit including a beret during a holiday but a failure to do so is not a punishable crime,” the spokesman told AFP. — AFP

businessmen who go searching for their boss in the north, and then link up with a tourist eager to explore the country. It is filled with slapstick humor and action scenes. The previous record for a domestic film was 726 million yuan set by “Painted Skin 2.” — AP

“His exuberant knowledge of literature has enabled him to pen beautiful luvvy-duvvy lyrics,” he added. The Hindi lines include: “romantic eyes, admire shyly, declare love silently”. The film, releasing this month, looks at gun culture in northern India and the link between crime and politics. “I really appreciate (Sibal’s) knowledge of the vast subject that is portrayed in my film, which attracted him more than anything,” said Om, an upcoming director looking to break into the mainstream with the release.

Sibal, 64, already has two collections of poetry under his belt and has linked poems to politics in the past. The lawyer-politician told The Economic Times newspaper that he normally wrote on his iPad during flights, and that he was very busy with work when he penned the lyrics. “The ‘Bandook’ song is already available in ringtones, though I haven’t got it as yet,” he added. In his ministerial post, Sibal has come under fire from free-speech activists after he championed an amendment to India’s IT act in 2009, which makes it illegal to post “grossly offensive” comments online.

Hackers attacked and defaced his website in November amid protests against the law. — AFP